Pigment Colour System at work in Mittagong

I first saw a version of this colour technique in Paris in 1995, when I was on my Churchill Fellowship. Jorge de Sousa, a Portuguese artist/printmaker had a technique called the JDS process, where he printed on Japanese paper and applied loose pigment to the verso,. He would then activate the pigment by adhering the washi sheet with rice paste to a damp backing paper (BFK or similar). I have started to use the technique in recent years, and have modified it by mixing the pigment with rice paste and applying it to the back of my printed images with a brush. This stops the powder spreading all over the studio and makes it easier to apply to specific areas. I have introduced this in a number of woodcut, lino and etching workshops and find it a great way to introduce lots of colour to an image without the cost and complication of multiple plates. Here is a really successful print (soft ground drawing on Iwaki paper) by Melanie Rooney at this year’s Sturt Summer School. It has been slightly cropped at the sides.