The Voyage of Maelduin was a book commission I completed in the form of 15 woodcuts. I recieved the commission by Author, Howard kistler who wanted me to produce 12 to 15 images in the form of woodcuts to illustrate his book. The finished book would be published by the No Reply Press based in New Orleans, United States. Here are some selected images showing the process of the book.
The left image shows the finished woodcut block. The roller/brayer is inked up with a thin layer of ink. The reason for a thin layer is so it doesnt sink into the crevices that have been cut. If they had it would make the edging dull leaving an uncrisp mark. With the right amount of ink and proper pressure of the press on paper then ideally a flawless print should be the result.
The finished piece pictured above as a woodcut printed on paper with Connor Maguire initials red signature stamp on it. This illustration was based on the Gods response to Maelduin.
The Gods will be angry and whisk up a storm if Malduin and his 5 brothers go to sea to save the other. They ignored the Gods and therefore a storm was whisked up throwing the brothers from the boat where one was lost at sea.
The rest of the chapters consist of Maelduin visiting other islands at the peril of him and his brothers to save another. Different ventures await.
Mastering a perfect balance of ink and pressure on a prepared block should create a crisp edged print without any flaws. Colours should be deep without any speckles of white through the paper. Notice how the original block is a reverse/mirror image of the final print on paper which sits on the Etching press bed.
The image above shows how the process begins when producing a woodcut print. The image on the left starts with a charcoal drawing remembering the final print will always be a reverse image once printed.
This Chapter was called “The Extraordinary Monster”. It consisted of a monster which devoured souls. The monsters face would distort and move with hellish features showing the human form moving under its skin. Its a challenge to illustrate something like this but still an interesting subject and a commission I thoroughly enjoyed.
The top 3 images consist of drawings draughted in charcoal. The lower 3 images are the finished woodcut prints ink pressed on paper. All images depict the different islands the brothers visited. The first image shows, “The Isle of the Weeping”. This island consisted of and isle of weeping woman. One brother who stepped on the Island was surrounded and fell under the spell of the weeping becoming one of the islanders so was lost forever to the other brothers.
The island of laughing was an isle of madness. Another brother who fell into despair of the Island they arrived on and was lost, therefore the other brother and boat sailed on.
The Palace of the little cat was a depiction of a cat that guarded this palace and was as fast an arrow devouring its enemy with speed. The gallery below shows a progressive and finished selected collection of images from the project. The book will be printed with Howard Kistler and the No – Reply Press later this year
