As mist retreats, Blackthorn stands

"As mist retreats, Blackthorn stands" depicts an Irish hedgerow scene in which a blackthorn — likely in early spring bloom, when its white blossoms appear before the leaves emerge — stands revealed by a clearing morning haze. Russell exploits the soft, water-based character of mokuhanga to render the dissipating mist through bokashi gradients, where pigment is brushed unevenly onto the moistened block to produce a graded wash without hard edges. The technique suits the subject: water-based sumi and mineral pigments absorbed into dampened washi, then burnished by baren, yield the muted tonalities and atmospheric softness that hard-line intaglio cannot replicate. The blackthorn itself is likely cut in a separate keyblock to preserve graphic contrast against the diffused background. The work belongs to Russell's later practice, after he expanded beyond his foundational training in etching, screenprint, mezzotint, and carborundum to incorporate mokuhanga. Transposing an Irish botanical motif into a Japanese relief tradition reflects a continuing thread in his output: adapting non-Western print methods — and their tonal vocabulary of mist, dampness, and seasonal transition — to native Irish landscape subjects.