Wanting to progress to the next stage, I purchased new materials around the time I finished "Ladies in waiting" but I waited until I finished "But first...Cherries" in the series before I made the switch. I bought new printing ink, switching from water-based to oil-based. I choose new blocks in battleship grey lino starting with 6x8, a touch bigger than my previous 4x6's. The next piece would also be on watercolor paper instead of mixed media paper. I wanted the texture and the deckled edge I've always loved on a float mount. I'm still burning by hand and this has proved challenging with the oils and thicker paper. I can't quite fathom doing much larger pieces this way. It's making more sense why some artists make less than 10 in a run. I'll have a press someday and look back and say, remember when I used to press these all with my own brute strength!!?
The subject for my first oil on watercolor paper is the blue and white bird of paradise or Giant Bird of Paradise, botanical name Stelitzia Nicolai. It's actually my favorite of the different varieties, which may be surprising since the more common smaller Bird of Paradise is more colorful. It's the Giant's fabulous height and gorgeous banana leafish leaves in contrasting greens and blue-greens.
The first cuts are rarely the deepest.
The shape of the blossom, a bird taking flight, often symbolizes freedom and the ability to soar. My own interpretation, the giant bird of paradise symbolizes "to soar to great heights".
Fun fact: The blossom was named to honor Queen Charlotte, an amateur botanist (1744-1818) And Stelitz means "archers". Another soaring symbol.
The blossoms I used as my inspiration are towering about 20-25 ft high in my neighbors yard. A challenge to photograph. I originally was going for a vertical and I did buy large vertical lino BUT I'm beginning my lino journey with a smaller piece sized 6x8. And those dimensions made the blossoms quite teeny when showcasing the height of these birds. I decided to zoom in on the blossoms and the leaves surrounding them at such great heights.
Giant Bird of Paradise
The Lino has a bit of prep to it and being in the midst of a online fast, I didn't want to break to go on YouTube, I then suddenly remembered, "Sarah, you bought books!" Oh how good it feels to consult a book for information. I went with Laura Boswell's suggestion to lightly sand it and gently wash with soap and water. I did chose to not stain it, but I get how that is helpful to show where you have carved. Maybe next time I'll try staining it. Truth be told I skipped it because I was very eager to get started. Kind of like I never tape off a wall before I paint it.
My guideline composition transferred to the block via graphite pencil then I fine point sharpied over that, as the pencil will smudge and eventually wear off with the inking and washing of the block. Yes, the sharpie will bleed onto the first few layers but it eventually gets covered by darker layers. And I say guideline because I sometimes make changes when carving, adding detail or simplifying areas.
I began by carving out some of the white petals (sepals) that I would use the color of the paper for. Then inked up Layer 1: alabaster for slight contrast and separation of the petals. Does it look like a piece of blank paper? Subtlety =)
Layer 1: alabaster
I then carved out the remaining petals except for the few that would be blue. Mixing up the next color, Layer 2: light ballerina pink. Which would serve as a few spots in the blossoms, a few marks on the gecko and the dried edges of the long stems and the stock instead of their in real life wheat shade.
Layer 2: ballerina pink
Video of Layer 3, of course I do not normally do this one handed.
I then carved out all those areas and mixed up the next color, the lightest of the greens. Layer 3: bright mint green for leaf highlights from the filtering sunlight, and some leaf veins.
Layer 3: Bright minty
Next leaf veins and the tiny Gecko. The gecko was actually on the flowers when I zoomed in. He was going to be included if I could tell it was a gecko when I carved and pressed it. If not, he was going to disappear into the stem. Layer 4 bright grass green.
Layer 4: Grass green
HINDSIGHT: When I do this subject again, I will try sticking with the creams/tans/pinks followed by the blues THEN all the greens. I went with lightest to darkest which is how you do this medium and particular process but I think perhaps sticking with the color families would have kept the green out of the blossoms as they would have been completely carved out when I began the greens.
Next were the two blues, Layer 5: cerulean for the petals and Layer 6: a blue with more grey and purple..hmmm Cornflower blue (?) as the base of the flower, the spathe. But this color on top of cerulean venturing on cobalt, became just a slightly different shade of cobalt once it dried. I didn't take into consideration the color stacking changing it so much. I could have mixed a new lighter color but I didn't want to lose more detail and some of the fine lines from previous layers. At this point the following contradicting questions entered my mind: Did I ruin it? and "Will this be better than I planned?
(Top) Layer 4, Lino, Layer 5: Cerulean Blue venturing on Cobalt
Layer 5 of "Strange Birds" hanging to dry
(Top) Layer 5, Lino, Layer 6: Cornflower Blue
HINDSIGHT: I may have ended with a more slate blue had I switched the order of these blues. But then green would have been beneath it which would have given it a slight teal hue.
So many layers in, so little it looks like I've carved.
Next came the greens. And at this point I didn't know just how many shades of green there would be so I began with a lightest and a bit on the teal side. Layer 7: a smoky teal.
Layer 7: Teal Smoke
A stumbled upon sunset while finished up in the studio. September sky with the moon and Venus. Then my brain began trying to figure this out as a block print.
“Who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of the waves, and the tumult of the peoples, so that they who dwell at the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs. You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy” ~Psalm 65:7-8
Moonscape/Sunset with Venus
After layer 7 hardened, it was too dark to add multiple even darker greens on top of, so I went lighter. I also needed a color for the "how am I going to express the bokeh background between the leaves" question I had not dealt with yet. With the bokeh I started carving freehand with lines and almost circles. It was either going to work or I was ruining it. And I felt like I was ruining it. Layer 8: pistachio venturing on local avocado.
(Top) Layer 7, Lino, Layer 8: Pistachio
Layer 8 of "Strange Birds"
And with pistachio really lighting the place up and giving me opportunities to add highlights, next was layer 9, a bright teal. Is this color in the giant bird of paradise? If you have a good imagination it does. But it sure looked great with pistachio. The bokeh also somehow looked awesome but pistachio needed a darker contrast so I didn't carve out anymore so that the next dark green would cover the teal.
(top) Layer 8, Layer 9: Bright Teal
The next green was either going to be the second to last or the last layer depending on how it looked. After the first pull I knew it was the last layer. Layer 10: Deep Sea Green
(Top) Layer 9, Layer 10: Deep Sea Green
Layer 9 next to layer 10 of "Strange Birds"
Video of Layer 9 of 10.
My dad brought in my own drying side table. I'd been setting clean cardboard on the table saw. They bought a chair at Costco and it came in a VERY nice cardboard box. I cut down the box to give me enough cardboard for many print runs to come. They topped the table perfectly.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
My favorite part are the breaks in the largest leaf on the right with the curled over edges.
"Strange Birds" Final Layer 10, Edition of 12
I upgraded my drying system or rather with oils, the airing system. I was using a found spool of hemp rope that kept stretching. This cord was also found in the garage but more heavy duty and long enough to stretch to another beam. They hang more level now and not as prone to curling. Because my studio is outside and Hawaii is extremely humid, the bulldog clips rust almost immediately, so I cut tiny pieces of parchment paper to go between the clip and my art which I refresh with each run as the rust eventually seeps though.
$3 Drying system.
When I began this subject with these materials, before I started inking, I’d planned to float the framed one on a grass cloth. While looking though the various natural colors grass cloth came in I ran across a dyed blue one. Even though the natural one was the plan, and I saved the buying info for the natural one, I could not stop thinking about the blue one. But that shade of blue didn't go with my planned color palette.
Fast forward a couple of weeks to layer 6, the cornflower blue not drying the intended color because of layer 5, the cerulean blue. I had two questions Did I ruin it or Will it be better than I planned. Well, now the blue grass cloth WAS the right color. I liked it both with the natural and also the blue.
If it's not good, then it's just not finished yet. Keep going!
The blue and natural grass-cloth background.
NEXT: A pastural Kohala landscape. My first sky! My first animals! How on earth will I carve clouds?!?!
There was a pause after "Ladies in Waiting" in early June. I guess you could say this lady was waiting for inspiration to strike. I'd planned on one more in this series before I begin larger sizes and switch to oil based inks. I had a few subjects in mind but no eureka moments. I continued to wait on "the one" until while on an evening walk in early July it was revealed.
For about 5 years I was the event director for the Holualoa Coffee and Art Stroll where local coffee farmers were hosted by Art Galleries and storefronts for coffee tasting. For another 5 years I assisted on a coffee farm, walking down the rows of trees in every season and witnessing the whole pain-staking process of what it takes to get that dark rich pour of happiness in your cup every morning.
2/3 of Americans drink coffee but I wonder how many know what coffee beans look like before they are roasted or even that they are inside fruit?
The ripe fruit are called "cherries". They look a little like crab apples but oval. Wait, do you know what crab apples are? They look like table grapes but not translucent. They grow off the branches of the tree in little clusters and while they ripen they change colors. Many Many colors! Kona coffee beans do not ripen all at once and one branch could have many color/ripening stages on it. This is one of the reasons hand-picking is crucial here. Beginning with green, they begin to change to peaches, pinks, reds, yellows, magentas and wines. The cherries are hand picked when they've changed to the reds but not too dark. Inside each cherry are two beans that look just like a roasted coffee bean only they are ivory. The cherries skin and pulp are removed, and the beans are dried, then the hull/parchment is removed revealing a green bean which is then roasted.
I composed from several photos I took, but one branch in particular was showing nearly ALL the colors. And I'm all about ALL the colors. It showed the beginning to the end in all it's coffee cherry glory. And with that I found "my one".
Though in black and white, they did look like a branch of 'Boobs"
I began with a green, a bit bright, a bit lime.
Next I tried a metallic gold, and this was my first time to use a metallic. It placed as my branch brown as I didn't want to use brown and stood in for the yellowish green of the fruit.
Layer 3 was going to be a peach but it came out brick orange on top of the metallic, and also filled in parts of the green veins of the leaves, which I was not excited about. I decided I needed to finish the leaves and carve them out before the red and red adjacent mixing began. Layer 3 was switched to the dark green and I tried (also for the first time) masking off the cherry section with a piece of parchment paper.
To get back to the red family, I began layer 4 with a light peachy pink.
Followed by bell pepper red.
Then Scarlett red...the "pick me pick me's" of the group.
And ending with layer 7, a deep merlot.
The cherries just past their prime but they are still hanging on.
After it was finished I laid them out to dry for a couple of hours on long pieces of recycled costco boxes that are laid across my dad's table saws, then I hang them up doe a couple of days. If I go straight to the hang, I've found they curl and it takes much longer to flatten them out later. If I leave them flat, the wind will eventually blow them to the dirty ground, OR and much more likely, one of the wild cats will walk across them, leaving kitty pawprint evidence.
I choose not to do a full green background of leaves and yet the white was looking unfinished to me. I didn't know how to finish so I put it on pause and started carving a new piece.
My "oopsies" on the sidelines.
I came back to it in August and had the idea of faint, more shadow-like branches. Since this is a reduction print there is no block left, so I transferred the designs to the back of a previous block. I traced the branch of cherries over first so I'd know what space I had to work with.I came up with 3 different ones and the placement. I placed my pencil branches face down on the block and rubbed the graphite on. That was when I realized how much carving I'd need to do to keep only these 3 tiny branches.
With fine lines, it's very easy to slip and tear them off. Flooded by excitement when this did not happen and I was also able to cut very tiny cherries. I fell in art love with these tiny branches but I was having a hard time with the color choice. I started with black, nope. Very dark green, nope. Then I changed directions with a Mint green...nope. The tones were all wrong. Frustrated and all my "test ones" used up, but I refused to be defeated. I wanted these branches to work somehow and everything was saying no no no. I put the piece on pause again.
Desiring to finish in August, I pulled out the yellow, blue and black once more. And I prayed for a green. As I began mixing this time, the right green came. hallelujah!
"But first...Cherries"
7 Color Layers Plus 1 color Additional Block / Edition of 27
The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival events begin November 6th -15th, 2026 with a Parade downtown Kona at 6pm. Followed by Miss Kona Coffee Competition, KTA Recipe Contest, Concerts, Barista Training, Latte Art Showcase, Half-Marathon, Cupping Competitions and more.
I'm in the midst of composing a new relief and though the flower is clearly a vertical, the best bits are comprised in the middle. I'm struggling in the decision to work it as a landscape instead. When pencils aren't leading to yes yes yes, I take a pause. I'll catch up on some little things that have popped out of the creative recesses recently.
My friend Mary's 80th birthday was last month. Knowing she'd be throughly garnished with leis and undoubtably a flower crown, I had the idea to make a corsage. I have made leis, flower crowns and boutonnieres but never a corage. On the way home from buying floral tape at the local hardware store (we don’t have a craft store anymore) I had the idea to make a scrunchie for the wrist part. Immediately following that thought, using the removable top of the cardamon spice jar I just finished off as the "frog". Supplies:
I cut a strip of fabric from the Sarahs Handmade Christmas project leftovers. I had elastic left from the custom mask making of 2020. The hardest part really was building the time machine to get me back to 1987. After I sewed the rad fabric and turned it inside out, it was time for this like major safety pin on the end of the elastic strip to pull through the totally tubular fabric followed by sewing the ends together. And I had a stretchy bracelet for my fresh bouquet.
I picked a number of little flowers from the garden. The big white ones (white ginger) though super delicate were used because they are also super fragrant. You smell that flower before you see it. They were the biggest gamble as the little stems are like tissue paper. At first it seemed like this was the best idea ever. But after wrapping the stems they no longer fit through the holes...so I started over and wrapped them after fitting through the holes which - double duty - prevented them from falling out the top when you turned it. Bitchin! However...I couldn't reach all of them without damaging others....I needed some glue. The only glue I could think of that dried fast was the hot glue gun. My mom was convinced that would cause the flowers to immediate wilt or fall apart. The internet read it would only work with a low heat gun and NOT straight from the gun. Ugh, that’s bogus and gag me with a spoon. But I figured the internet is never wrong and I should follow it blindly. Psych! I needed it to come straight from the gun and that gun was high heat, possibly “industrial”. Therefore, I proceeded to glue the crap out of it and it totally worked. Like Totally. Human 1 - A.I. 0
I planned to sew the plastic froggie to the scrunchie but I'd glued up all my holes, lame, soooo I glued that on too. Hey, It only needed to look rad for a few hours. I popped it in the fridge until we left for the party. I'm happy to report it made it to me putting it on her wrist! :) And an hour later it was still on..mostly. Not all the ginger petals made it through the dancing portion of the evening but I didn't expect them too. This is why they use roses and babies breath...much hardier stems to wrap. Happy Birthday to the totally Bodacious Mary!
While pulling out the left over elastic, I looked through my leftover assortment of mask fabrics. Mostly whimsical because…2020. As my hair gets longer and longer, and outside gets hotter and hotter…it's put up more and more. Maybe I need a scrunchie for "when I wash my face". Because it totally reminded me of the Ron Livingston episode of Sex and the City. I could have picked something understated and try to force chic something that's just not, in ANY fabric but I went another direction. It knows that it is and it's confident about it. Birdie was very interested in the scunchie making and watched every step very carefully as if she was going to make hers next.
I wanted to create a hibiscus next but not a typical red, yellow or white. There's a very strangely colored hibiscus in my parent's neighborhood. It's enormous and in shades of lavender blue and sherbet orange with a fuchsia center. She's extra and a perfectly odd choice. I also wanted to try carving out the background to change up what I'd done so far with flowers.
After carving out the background, I started with a bright lemon yellow followed by orange.
Very early on this was reminding me of the Brady's set and the daughters late 60's early 70's wardrobes, and it was quickly named "Marcia Marcia Marcia". Next color, bubble gum pink.
Final Layer of the flowers before the leaf colors. The periwinkle blue or lavender blue (dilly dilly). I was a little scared at this point that perhaps I had made an ick color scheme mistake.
But when the avocado green saturated into it, I loved it yet again.
Going through my photos for this one I somehow missed documenting the mixing of the two green layers. I think I was rinsing my tools in the sink when I remembered. Shoot!
"Marcia Marcia Marcia"
6 Color Layers / Edition of 11
The next block began in another composition in May and titled "All the Single Ladies" with a carved out background and each flower apart. I liked the colors but not the ladies apart, it was just too much negative space around them. It no longer looked like a reduction but separate carvings put together. So "All the Single Ladies" became "Ladies in Waiting" in June, I started over with a new block and new composition, I added their leaves and put the ladies together in a garden. Because aren't we waiting together? I'm not all by myself, I've got ladies around me and extra foliage now too.
I began with the torch ginger as it has white lined petals. And PINK, which I realize now that some close shade of this had made it into every relief accept "In Florescent".
Orange was next because it's a key color in the Parrot Beak heliconia. I decided to trim the Caribaea Heliconia as well. Sure the one in our garden is trimmed in yellow but...artistic license. Also because I was omitting yellow on this one.
The third layer was bright red. Now this shouldn't be the next layer because it's difficult to cover and I had a lot of layers to go. However the Torch, being trimmed in white, will fill in with all the other colors making red difficult later, so it was a judgement call.
Because I just shot myself in the foot, color mixing wise, by using this bright, I just cut my finger with my fancy Japanese carving tool Red. I actually did do that on this one, my FIRST cut and thank God it was not the deepest. Quick rinse, peroxide and waterproof Band-Aid and I was back in the wood working room with a sharp blade in hand.
I decided to go with Mint Green next which kind of gave me a blank slate for the next two greens... Also I really like this mint green. It will make a more best supporting role in a future piece. And let's be real, probably alongside pink.
Art Deco Green and Kelly Green.
I never do this one-handed! ;p
The leaves and stocks of the Torch leaves are a deep wine purple.
Think Malbec. I realized I'd be shooting myself yet again if I went with it next but I needed the background color to be last and I needed a wine red (think Pinot) to be after the purple because of the big Anthurium and the Torch stock.
THIS WAS A VERY COMPLICATED ONE.
Much like Marcia 3X at this stage I thought...ought oh. As much as I like Wine, I was not liking it in this piece. Totally feeling Jan. I mixed up several colors that absolutely did not work with this red being beneath it. So before I got too frustrated, I stopped, cleaned all my tools and slept on it. The next morning I looked at my test ones and didn't like any of them. I prayed about it and waited for a knowing. There were no tests ones left to experiment on. I wanted a dark green for the background but the previous greens had not covered the red. One even made it very close to the previous purple. But even though it appeared like it would not work, I tried again, mixing up a very bright green then adding a smidge of black.
And Hallelujah, it covered the red! And Finished, 9 colors later. The most layers of any of my previous reliefs...so far.
"Ladies in Waiting"
9 Color Layers / Edition of 22
Gallery BTS…Laying the framed collection on the floor to arrange the wall layout.
.JPG "Strange Birds reduction linocut layer 8 by Sarah Bello")
