I was able to get back to this gum print recently, applying the final layers of color. One of the primary influences of any gum print is simply the color choices, layering order and print time to control the final image. I didn't want the sky in this print to be dark, with a multitude of reds, oranges, yellows and other sunset colors. I wanted the late afternoon sky, with clouds, and the glow of the low setting sun on the desert flora. Interpretations are everything.
I made this print on Revere Platinum paper, which, when sized correctly for a gum print, works nicely. The drawback to this paper, with the multiple wetting from floating each print layer, this paper curls a bit, needing to be flattened after dry down. What I do for that is use a piece of mat board with a window cut out just larger than the bum printed area. I lay this over the gum print while it is wet, lay it in a screen dryer, with thin wooden slats on all sides, such that the screen lid holds the print flat during drying. Works well. However, the Hahnemuhle paper doesn't do this. It stays pretty much flat when hung on a line with clothespins. No wrinkling or curling.
This print consisted of twelve print layers, using sixteen color mixtures. For my eye, it could have used a bit more orange/red in the sky. I've been trying to be careful with the reds spectrum and green spectrum colors, being I don't see much of them, until the color is so saturated everyone else sees neon colors. This sky seems to my eye, slightly weak of color. Perhaps for those viewers who see color, it doesn't. Personal tastes steer that.
Gum Dichromate Print
"View from the Sunset Spot" ~ 8"x10"
Avra Valley, Arizona
