I had the pleasure of being included in a project hosted by the Brown College at Monroe Hill, University of Virginia. A group was exploring the creation of a bestiary book and I was asked to participate as well. This kirin or asian unicorn was one of the preliminary sketches that were made. He is who I think of when the phrase "distinguished gentleman" comes to mind. I loved him so much that I decided to immortalize him in a woodcut.

I first carved out the outline of the sketch and printed an edition of sumizuri-e or strictly sumi ink based prints. From there, I created 4 more woodblocks to create his various colors. The gradation is a technique in Japanese woodblock printing called bokashi. It is achieved by printing several receding passes of color. The color combinations reminded me of a ripe strawberry so he was dubbed the Strawberry Roan.

There are a few prints from each edition remaining in my shop link available for purchase!