With a Reductive Screen Print, I approach it first by sourcing and drawing my image on Procreate to be able to play around with how many layers and types of colors are needed for the work. A rectangle is exposed onto a silk screen coated in photo emulsion to establish the matrix or base of the piece. I then use screen filler and a paint brush to paint what I would like to save of the original paper color in the first layer, or do a full rectangle color as my base as I did with the yellow to light blue blend in this work. With each passing layer, you paint in more and more of the screen in order to save the previous color laid down in the print. By then end, most of the screen has been painted in, leaving just the finest details for last. Typically you work from the lightest color to the darkest, but there’s room to play around with transparencies and colors throughout the production of the print. Once this edition has been sold, no more can be made since the matrix has been destroyed. This reductive screen print happens to be six layers of various colors overlaid. 
 
It’s been interesting to start to immerse myself deeper into the world of full color. Being a black and white print girlie has been my calling card. I appreciate the stark contrast and having to think through ways to add depth and dimension to a work that consists only of a single layer. But screen printing for me has always been a process laden with color, so it felt natural to dive back into this medium with a counter full of ink containers. Some colors added were an unexpected surprise, but for someone who sticks to a lot of cool tones it was nice to add some warmth back in as we approach these winter months.

“Red Skies At Night” exists in an edition of 37 prints, and once these are gone, they're gone forever! I think that scarcity is poetic in the same kind of fleeting way the sunset is each night. It feels magical to be able to capture a moment of such grandeur like this, glowing red clouds that feel precise in their placement rather than the happenstance of it all. That's why I went with the title 'Red Skies At Night" to accompany a future work, "Sailors Delight" but truly it's a fun saying. Feeling like you're captaining your own ship out into the unknown and stumbling upon pure magic and delight laid out before you in the sky. Knowing that the waters ahead will be smooth and calm your mind from the thoughts of treacherous nature that tend to creep in. Now you don't have to wait to experience this moment of calm, you can carry it with you forever!