Episode Details

Join me for the final part of my two part interview with printmaker Will Francis. What started as a discussion about pigments, used historically and currently in the world of mokuhanga, quickly morphed into a lively discussion about what it means to be a mokuhanga artist in modern times.

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Show Notes: all links are hyperlinked. Just click!

Will Francis: Patreon and website

cochineal pigment

Hokusai 36 Views of Mount Fuji

Prussian blue pigment

Natalie Stopka has a very good article written on her website regarding indigo pigment.

Shōzaburō Watanabe (1885-1945) - an entrepreneur and publisher who kicked off what would become one of the most significant chapters in mokuhanga history. It was his vision which brought together artists from the yōga and nihonga schools of Japanese art to help make woodblock prints in the ukiyo-e tradition. A fantastic book on the subject is Seven Masters: 20th Century Japanese Woodblock Prints from The Wells Collection. There is a detailed history of the shin-hanga movement and those involved.

sepia pigment

ochre pigment - great article of earth pigments from ThoughtCo.

Harunobu Suzuki (1725- 1770) One of the original nishiki-e printmakers. His prints would pave the way for many who would make and design prints in design and subject matter.

overprinting - this is a term coined for printing the same spot on a print over and over again to get the desired colour, depth and richness.

Lucy Morrish is Will Francis' partner. She works on illuminated manuscripts and uses vellum for this work. Her work is spectacular. Her website will tell you everything you need to know regarding her process and her works.

shell gold pigment - article is from naturalpigments.com

gouache pigment - great article on handprint.com

Laura Boswell - printmaker based in the UK and is a teacher of Will Francis. You can find her work here, and her YouTube channel here. sōsaku hanga - a style of mokuhanga which involves a more free approach to printmaking where one person does the design, carving, and printing in their own. Good article here from Ronin Gallery in NYC.

Hashiguchi Gōyō (1881-1921) - a yōga painter who transitioned to designing a single woodblock print for Watanabe and then designed on his own. His life was cut short at 40 by meningitis. He left a lasting legacy on the Japanese print through the design and construction of his work, especially with the design of images of women.

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