I did this sketch back in January and have been wanting to make a print of it, so this is my current project. It's the grave of Rev. Washington just north of Earle, Arkansas, which is Carroll Cloar country for those of you who like Southern art. Rev. Washington was one of the first Black landowners who owned extensive cotton fields in that part of the world. His church is just up the road with its own lovely cemetery, but he constructed his own funeral mound out in the middle of one of his cotton fields, and the sight has stayed with me in my mind.

It's nice to have an intricate block to dive into -- once it's drawn to size and transferred to the block with carbon paper I can just dip in and out of it as time and energy serve. It's been a crazy year on a number of fronts, so time and energy are both in short supply just now, but I love having a project I can pick up and put down as needed. And something meaningful that I look forward to doing.

Here's the first proof, just in black to see how the carving is going.

After a bit more work I did the first color proof. I'm rolling several colors onto the block at once and blending with the rollers. This technique cuts down the number of blocks and number of printings that each finished piece requires. It works well if the colors are harmonious when blended instead of fighting with each other. I'll do some more combinations and gradations and see what I like best for the finished print, though each one will be a little different from the last due to the inexact nature of rolling multiple colors at once. I can generally keep them in the same ballpark though.