… than expected:

So, I lightly sanded the lino before using acrylic paint to stain the block. Left the paint for two or three minutes to stain and then removed the excess pigment with a damp cloth.

To transfer the printed picture I used Liquitex Matt Medium. First applying it to the block, and then an even coat onto the black and white printed paper. Next time I’ll try another method to line it up. Probably like a printing press bed. Then I used my library card to press the block and paper together and to remove any bubbles and creases.

The next step was to leave it for thirty minutes. Then dampen the paper with water. For the A4 print I may use a light pad for a pencil outline on the reverse of the print ~ just to give me an area to home in on, which has lots of detail. A brush was a gentle way to rub the damp paper off. But a finger was the quickest way…

I used half an old plastic lid for the medium… so even the small bottle should go a long way… bargain…

I’ll probably use a Sharpie too for the next one. Tomorrow it’s a quick visualization before carving.