Birdies reduction print

After the lino prints I did recently, I was keen to try a reduction print. But before trying it on a larger scale with lino, I decided to do a small scale eraser carving to try out the technique. This is about two inches square.

First I carved the moon, which I wanted to remain white, then printed with a beige colour (I used rubber stamping inks). On this print, my favourite, by chance the centre area also remained white, which I think frames the birds very well. Next I carved out the whole of the sky, and printed in brown. I then carved away everything except the birds and the water, and printed with turquoise. Finally I carved everything else away to leave just some waves and the wings of the birds, and printed in dark blue.