To create this color reduction woodcut, "Water Lilies", Mortensen used 17 press runs to print the 19 colors. Mortensen's subject is an idyllic pond at twilight, just as night begins to fall. The calm surface is covered with water lilies. This is an artist's proof, outside the published edition of 160
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."