Streedagh Beach, Sligo

This print departs from Early's intaglio practice into Japanese water-based woodblock, mokuhanga, which she has pursued alongside her copper-plate work since training in the technique. Streedagh is a three-mile sweep of Atlantic beach in County Sligo, fronting an exposed coastline and the site of three Spanish Armada wrecks of 1588. Mokuhanga's water-based pigment, hand-rubbed with the baren onto dampened washi, produces the translucent layered colour that suits the shifting tonal registers of beach, tideline, and offshore water. Bokashi gradation, achieved by wetting the block before pigment application, is the natural technique for a horizon-band composition like this, allowing seamless transitions between sky, sea, and sand without registration line. The 2020 date places this among Early's earlier mokuhanga prints. Where her etchings record built coastal structures, this print records the coast itself, unbuilt: the open seascape that complements the lighthouse cycle by giving its other half, the sea without the marker.