Studio: international art (3.1894)

Woodcut Printing in Water Colours

in metal-work as well as in wall-papers textiles, ^OODCUT PRINTING IN

or book ornament The, " panel for the front of a % A / WATER COLOURS. III.

piano is both good in itself and happy in its sug- \ / \ /

gested application ; that (Fig. 9) to be executed in %/ %/ In place of reporting an excel-

wrought and sheet copper and brass has been T T lent paper by Mr. J. D. Batten,

especially contrived to bring out the potential read lately before a well-known guild, the author

beauties of colour in those two metals. The " fire- has allowed an interview on the same subject to be

screen," to be given here, as

mounted on a ^^^^^^^v^^^^^^1*^ a suPPiernent

backing of cop- /f/r /^dJ >1bL ^\.^\x^<s t0 tW° Prev*ous

pergauze,seems hjf / ff -^^IsS^^ \ \ \a\ articles on the

as bold and new /f J f I { \ \ subject of

in its way as /L^. ^S, If' ^^=J[ s /^^^TOH^r^^^^ ? /___- Xi. »1water " colour

anything our £^^^^7^^^^^^^^J^^^J^^^y bIock PrintinS-

draughtsmen if"^^Z^^^ ^*§^ly5^3^ ^=»s#% v'^,-s=S\ "As one who

have lately been /\ m ^^s^" ^=^^^¥^*^=*==-™'!^2^===, /a I\ has actually ex-

giving us; as V'w ^ss^^^sCI^^^^*^^^^^^^ Perl'ment:ed m

indeed, with all f^^^^^^^^^^L^^^^^B.^HS?^*'i:"":;3^^f\ colour-print-

the difficulties f«\ ^*!^^s^^^ ^^O^ ^^^S^^*" ing," I said to

of commercial- --^g - „. ........—^^n-. —b-...-^^^j^j Mr. Batten, " it

ism in the way, ~ - — — , ..... . jf i .......m...... will be interest-
is the bracket ^ ^S*a^fe:^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ing to have the
of iron for an result of your
electric light endeavours so

0 fig. 5. — grille for fanlight, copper and brass by h. pepper

lamp; while the far."

signs of the " Phcenix " and " Golden Lion " (Figs. "My experiments," he replied, "have been, as you

1 and 2) are quite admirable, and not to be spoken know, an attempt to follow the method of colour-

of in the same breath with the gaudy monstrosities printing employed by the Japanese—that is to say,

of gilt and gimcrack with which mine host is gene- to print from wood blocks in water-colours. This

rally pleased to offend our eyes. method introduces limitations and opens up possi-

There remains only a word to say from the bilities very different from those of the ordinary

tradesman's point of view ; one, by no means to colour-printing of commerce, which I believe is in-

be ignored, nor in its fitting place to be despised, variably in oils, whether done from blocks or from

Mr. Pepper, as a practical man, has not chosen to lithographic stone. The wet colour is laid on with a

indulge himself with visions. His ideal has been brush fully over the whole block, staining not only

to make designs which can be executed with all the raised portions but the sunken surfaces. Hence,

proper economy of labour and material; but to the I found it is needful to cut the blocks fairly deep

utter exclusion of shams and humbug. An iron- and avoid placing lines so close together that the

worker will see at a glance that the patterns illus- paint would fill up the spaces between the blot;

trated can all be directly produced from the mate- consequently, all representation of tone, whether by

rial as ordinarily supplied, in bar or sheet, with no means of delicate lines engraved closely together

undue complication of process; the arrangements or by cross hatching or stipple, is out of the

of colour are necessarily for the craftsman himself, question. On the other hand, gradation of tone

fig. 6.—panel, wrought and sheet iron by h. pepper

144