I have mentioned wanting to scale up the print size for gum printing. When I began I was working with negatives from my Burke & James 5x7 flat bed view camera. For the past two years I've been making 8x10 gum prints, gum over palladium prints. Today I spent the better part of the afternoon sweating like a tourist in the Amazon jungle, but that's another story. I found an artist's drawing board, with the hand hold cutout and two metal clips for a sketch pad. Those got cut off and the board is now a 20"x22" backboard for the sheet of 3/16" 16"x20" glass that will be connected to the board using reinforced strapping tape, three or four lengths, the same width of the glass. That being the hinge. Two large metal paper clamps hold it down during printing.
I've also begun the test sheet for my new approach to gum printing, in general. Not even applications over the entire image as traditionally done, not even the color application locally technique. I'm working on brush stroke applications of complimentary colors over an area as one would expect of Impressionist work. I have yet to arrive at such a brush stroke combination as yet. That is what I'm working on now. What can I get away with, how does that actually look?
I will continue print the Kallitypes toned in Palladium, mostly now the Arizona scenics I have prepared. Soon, though, I will be making three platinum/palladium (Na2) prints of three images I have of Native Dancers, at sunset. I may even be holding one of those images back for a gum print. All the prints I make now are unique, regardless of the medium. This next color layer will tell me if the sizing routine I did on the Hahnemuhle paper supports the type of printing I am after. If not, I'll be back to Arches hot press watercolor paper again.