Gum Theory ~ Layering

As noted in the last post on gum printing, the process itself as a step by step guide will be forthcoming when I have begun printing gums again, moving through the procedure as a process that I employ. There is a simple reason for this. I am self-taught. There are no academic credentials to point to for photographic authority. As I wrote in my Artist's Statement, many years ago, my credentials come from my work. If you like what I am doing with a process, and have a desire to learn it, those are all the credentials needed for success. I am going to stick my neck out and say that Dan Burkholder derives from the same credentialed position.

I have gum prints with two color layers and a couple with over a dozen color print layers. The two coat gum was printed as a 'duo-tone'. Well, best I could do with it anyway. The two 'colors' were black and what my eye approximated as a 'palladium brown'. Then there's the little problem of digitally copying and presenting the image without grossly shifting what color it is, to a replicated image fabricated with my red/green deficient eye. I leave it to the color sighted for judgement of the end result.

There is a sort of traditional procedure for stacking the CYMK color layers. I found that to be Magenta, Yellow, Cyan, then Black. Then there is another that follows the acronym for the colors and they stack Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, then Black. What I would tell you is that both are correct, as would be the way I print, which begins with the Black. Pigment selection is important for two reasons. First, being a high grade of pigment is important for archival quality. Student grade or even lower grades of pigment also work, but aren't going to have the longevity as a professional grade. Secondly, the different pigments mix differently. Subtle but different.

I have always used high grade watercolor tube colors. My wife being a watercolor artist has them around for my perusal, as well as excellent inside knowledge of each color's attributes and 'translucency', and that is very important. Selecting the colors is also important, to keep to true CYMK colors instead of RGB colors. That is a different color arrangement and printing outcome. An RGB tri-color gum of course uses three colors instead of four. Black isn't included, as the three colors mimic a dark color which is sort of a 'shadow black' not dMax type black. Such a finished print can be quite attractive, and for my eye looks much like a color print from the early color negatives, which left a somewhat soft pastel color look. Perhaps someday I will try one out. For now I stick with CYMK printing. I like a dMax black in the image, and sometimes a paper base white as well.

I will get into detail on my personal approach to color stacking, and why it works for me, later. What I want to talk about now is what is happening with the color stacking, and why I follow that path. Beginning with the basic subtractive color theory, the four colors, stacked on top of each other, add up to a full spectral color image. Same as the summation of RGB colors, making up the color spectrum of visible white light. That would mean equal amounts of each color, either transmitted or reflected to create the illusion of a color image. The addition of the black in the CYMK arrangement of course adds shadow and depth to the image.

The most subtle but important aspect of this color stacking has to do with pre-visualizing the affect of each color layer over the current layer(s). If a lot of Magenta pigment is printed on the first layer, then Cadmium Yellow is added on top, in equal amount, Orange is the result. Layer Cyan over that and you end up with some form of reddish Brown. Lesson the Yellow and keep the Cyan constant and you end up with darker warm brown. A thin layer of Magenta with a heavier layer of Yellow, followed by a healthy layer of Blue and you end up with a Greenish color.

Once the printer has some experience with layering colors it doesn't take long to know now much of each color layer to mix for the desired outcome. There are also other printing variables that can further enhance the image, one being altering the color layering, as I do, for a different result. Another method took me some time to realize, but nothing says the printer needs to cover the entire print area with each and every layer. I would encourage the printer to brush color(s) only on specific areas of the image that would enhance them, as well as arrive at a more precise color for that specific area, such as flowers or other vegetation with colors that would be difficult to replicate stacking every color layer over that area. By mixing a specific color for that specific region of an image, further enhancements can be obtained. I learned this on the last gum print I made, thirty years ago. I will post that again, later. That gum print has thirteen color print layers, a few of those layers were specifically targeted for vegetation.

Beginning with the simplest multi-layer gum image, one I refer to as a Duo-Tone. The image below is my interpretation of such a Duo-Tone using Black and a Brown (to my eye). The Black was printed first, then the Brown on top. I confess to not remembering the brand of watercolor, after thirty years. l look for Windsor Newton or Van Gough brands today. This is also the first gum I printed the Black first. The actual second 'color' is iffy compared to the original, due to said digital replication. Forgive that failure. What I learned from this printing is that dMax can be reached, as well as leaving a paper base white, using only two layers. The texture and detail will be greatly increased and enhanced by using a digital negative. Soon.

Gum Dichromate Print (from paper negative) ~ "The Conductor"
1985 ~ 6"x9" ~ Unique
The Blue Goose Line, Oregon