From: Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Date: 11/11/01-11:56:28 PM Z
On Sun, 11 Nov 2001, Art Chakalis wrote:
> .... Do the statements on
> what I will call color saturation hold water? My interpretation is that
> he indicates that replacing the black pigment in the 4th printing with a
> mix of the three primary colors, to creat black, will enhance the
> print's colors? Anyone with experience/comment?
I think that's period bound -- there was a time -- not sure I should admit
I was there, but in the 30s for instance we were taught to mix black with
complements, to never use black paint. That was a principle of the
Impressionists -- no black. I'm not quite as old as Van Gogh, but the idea
took a while to reach the mainstream. In the early days we discussed this
on the list -- the taboo against both black & white in (different) circles
of watercolorists.
As to whether it's true in gum printing or not... impossible to tell,
because it depends (in my experience) ENTIRELY on everything else -- which
particular pigments, which black, which negative, etc.
When I made some echt color-separated gums, the only way I could use a K,
or black neg, was by washing most of it off, otherwise it was death. But
I've had both success & failure with both methods when printing monochrome
differentially. My feeling now is that IF you have a good mix, and IF you
have the right negative for it, and if the image can take it, and IF you
work that way, you MAY get more punch from a sparingly used actual black.
(I think Keith Gerling has been more successful with black layer than I
was, however, maybe because he's a finer person, maybe because he knows
how to make the right black neg digitally. Keith, are you there????)
Judy
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