Golden Dusk

Gordon Louis Mortensen

Mortensen found the location for his color woodcut Golden Dusk north of Boston. Brilliant orange pond reeds and rushes seem to literally pop against the cool, heavily treed purple hillside. Both are reflected in the still pond waters which adds to the tranquility of the scene. Mortensen has mastered the technique of layering colors to provide depth, delicacy, shadow, and light.

Gordon Mortensen commented on the process he uses:

"Only one woodblock is used. On it, an image is drawn in India ink. Before the first color is printed, any areas that are to remain unprinted (white or the color of the paper) are cut away from the surface of the block. Then an oil-base ink is used to print the first color on all of the sheets of paper that are to be used for the edition and proofs.

After the first printing, the block is again cut, removing any surface of the block that is to remain the first color in the finished print. After each subsequent color is printed, the block is cut, the process continues until the print is finished and most of the surface of the block is cut away."