Barnyard Goose

While visiting the Amish petting farm, I noticed that one of the star attractions was the large, white goose.  She was an eager eater, yet gently approached each new, little hand filled with pellets of food.   She stood amazingly tall - with neck extended, almost 4 feet. I began by sketching her entire body, but quickly switched to focus on the top of her neck and head.

Barnyard Goose - Pencil then India ink on tan Strathmore 300 series paper. 

As you can see above, there are several layers of work included in this image.  I began by tracing the relief block on the tan paper.  Next, I drew in the pencil sketch of the goose head.  Finally, I used black India ink to emphasize the essential lines in the pencil drawing that were to be the focus of the soft graphite tranfer.

Barnyard Goose relief block - Speedball relief block with initial carving pieces removed.  Note, soft graphite transfer lines are still very visible. 

I found all of the vertical lines on the neck of the goose to be distracting.  I began drawing them all in, then decided to omit most of theme and keep to lines clean and uncluttered.  Because there is so much of this block that is not a part of the relief print, much it will be cut away - ideally I will be able to salvage some of the pieces for another, smaller project.  You may have noticed that the piece in the upper right hand corner of the block has already been carved; this piece will probably be discarded, but there is hope for the larger piece in the lower right hand corner that is virtually uncut with the exception of the outer, top edge.