The Abaeebka, Study

The salt freighter Abaeebka was a frequent visitor to the Granite State Minerals terminal in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The drawing for the reduction woodcut was done after a heavy daytime snowfall. In the later part of the day, Don dug a hole in the snow and sat with the board waist-high in front of him. He drew on the paper clipped to a large board with a grease pencil, and the drawing took about an hour and a half. The reduction woodcut was created at the Chestnut Road studio in Ogunquit, Maine. The woodblock for the Abaeebka shows an adjustment to the printing surface. Don determined that a color needed to be added even though a section of wood had already been removed.