Printed Pictures: Final Prints

These are my final outcomes for my Printed Pictures brief. I want to put them together within a book alongside the quotes from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the inspiration behind the imagery. 

After printing in gold and purple, a colour scheme that I have tried and tested and really liked, I noticed that there was also a silver ink in the print room which I had been unable to find before. I decided that silver would convey my themes of mystery and magic and the moon motif a lot more effectively. I decided to pair the silver with a dark blue/turquoise/teal which I think allowed the lino cuttings to stand out more as there was more contrast between the light and the dark. I wanted high contrast to fit with my themes of contrasts and opposites which run throughout the play. 

For these prints I used my carefully selected quotes, with key motifs and themes in their content, to inspire the images within them. I wanted a few different motifs and symbols to be included so that they could juxtapose and interact together to create an atmosphere reflecting the play and the chosen quotes.

I also used a theme of renaissance design to reflect the design of Shakespeare's time.

'Me thinks I see these things with parted eye, When everything seems double.'- Act 4 Scene 1
'The poets eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven.' -Act 5 Scene 1
'Therefore the moon, the governess of floods, pale in her anger, washes all the air…' - Act 2 Scene 2
'It seems to me/ that yet we sleep, we dream.' - Act 4 Scene 1

For this print I used imagery such as; the moon, the eye, the magical realm between heaven and earth, tears and the night, to reflect the chosen quotes. 

'I will shake thee from me like a serpent.' - Lysander to Hermia.
'And through this distemperature we see the seasons alter…' - Act 2 Scene 1
'You spotted snakes with double tongue' -Act 2 Scene 2
'Four happy days bring in another moon.'

Here I used imagery such as; the moon, snakes, two-tongues, seasons, and night time to reflect the chosen quotes. 

'Sent with broom before to sweep the dust behind the door.'
'Think but this, and all is mended: that you have but slumbered here, while these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend. If you pardon, we will mend.' - Puck
'Now until the break of day through this house each fairy stray. To be best bride-bed will we, which by us shall blessed be.'

For the above print I used imagery such as doors, a broom, fairies, the moon/sun, the night and day, to visualise the chosen quotes. 

'Reason becomes the marshall to my will/And leads me to your eyes, where I o'er look. Love stories written in loves richest book.' - Act 2 Scene 2.
'Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged cupid painted blind.'

For this print I have used imagery such as eyes, an open book, the heart, angels/cupids, to reflect the chosen quotes. 

Quotes '''

For the above print I have used imagery such as flowers, night time, the moon, four people, pairs/couples, opposites and symmetry, eyes and sleep to reflect the chosen quotes.         

'The juice of it on sleeping eye lids laid/Will make or man or woman madly dote/upon the next live creature that sees!' -Act 2 Scene 1
'Churl, upon thy eyes I throw/ All the power this charm doth owe.' - Puck on a boy.
'A bank where the wild thyme blows, where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine, with sweet musk-roses, and with eglantine. There seeps Titania sometime of the night, lulled in these flowers with dances and delight.'

For this last print I used imagery such as flowers, night time, fairies, sleep, eyes, contrasts, grace/elegance, to convey the chosen quotes visually.

Lino printing was something I really enjoyed in this project. I love the tactile element when cutting out and mark-making into the lino itself. I also loved the experimental side of the printing process, particularly combining chosen colours with density and opacity of ink. I really like the fact that every print is unique and impossible to plan out exactly. I think this creates something special in each print and it gave me a chance to experiment with creating many different variations of the same lino print to see which captured the intended atmosphere and why. I found that I preferred the darker prints as they provided more impact as a final outcome due to a higher contrast and juxtaposition between the blank white paper and the ink. It made the pieces look more clean cut but also darker; more mysterious; fitting in with my chosen themes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. After experimenting with colours I also discovered that silver and a dark turquoise worked best to translate the atmosphere of the play. I think this was due to the cooler tones compared to the purple and gold. The latter colours hinted at a richer more royal tone which I did want to establish in my pieces as hierarchy is a big element in the play.

I think I made a good decision picking 6 prints to do instead of 10. It meant I was able to put a lot of care and effort in to designing and creating my lino prints. I also found it a lot easier on my final lino cuts than my practice ones as I invested in a better quality lino and bought my own tools which meant it was easier to cut into and gave me time over Christmas to use my own tools to get to grips with the cutting and mark making process.