Gum Printing progress

Another printed color layer has been added to the two gum prints, respectively. A magenta layer added to the black layer of The Swing, and a Yellow layer added to Old Jerome Hotel. The changes in color are, at this stage, minimal, in that not much color accumulation is visible, to me anyway, behind the overall yellow color stain from the dichromate. That stain will be cleared as the final step in the process, after all the printing has been done. Then all the true colors show up distinctly.

What can be detected, slightly, is the addition of textural detail in the image. Each thin coating adds to the detail, adding more textural quality each layer, which is why the many coatings are important to arrive at an image that shows full detail in the final print, not just smudged colors. I would be lying if I said I know ahead of time how many layers any given print will ultimately have, or the colors I will use in each coating, or in what order. Those decisions are made before each layer is added. What I will note is that there is some commonality in print layers for the first four coats, usually. That is, I tend to frame the print image using the basic CYMK colors, although in reverse order; KMYC.

Each of those color mixtures is based upon the makeup of the image. The Old Jerome Hotel image has a sky to consider, how to layer to end up with a blue sky. The Swing image has no sky, but it does have a lot of vegetation, with a tree front and center. The mixing density of each color is predicate on these considerations. More magenta, influences with blue creates a brown color, if the magenta were thinner, and the Yellow layer is more prominent, the following blue layer then leaves a green color. Added to the standard coating procedure, covering the entire image with said color, localized coatings begin to assist is further defining areas of the image to conform to a desired effect, like blue sky, or green vegetation, without also shifting colors in other areas. Printing a palladium or silver might be considered as a procedure, to be a two dimensional application. Making a gum print is a three dimensional procedure.

Another, and better reason I am a bit stingy with copying and showcasing these gum prints is simply due to my visual failings along with limitations in faithfully replicating said digital images. First off, I'm nearly color blind red/green, beyond other visual damages to my eyes. Showing an image not representative of the real thing doesn't do anyone any favors, and misrepresents the practice entirely.
I will capture the prints once they have advanced sufficiently to demonstrate real progress, visually and of course once they are finished and cleared.