Jessica

A four-block figurative portrait in Lyon's established format of intimate, close-range studies of named individuals. Four printing passes structure the tonal range from deepest shadow through midtone to highlight, a constraint that demands decisive decisions about where tonal complexity is concentrated. Printed on [washi](/glossary/washi), the image exploits the paper's absorption of water-based pigments, producing soft tonal boundaries rather than the hard edges associated with oil-based relief printing. Lyon's CNC technology ensures each block's carved gradations register precisely against those that precede it, allowing the limited palette to read as a continuous photographic tone across the face and figure. The result sits within a tradition of Western portraiture interpreted through Japanese printmaking materials and process.