Multi-color woodcuts are uncommon because they are extremely difficult to do. To make the ten woodcuts of scenes near Maynard Dixon's studio, I carved Eighty-three wood blocks. I then inked these blocks with different colors and printed each color of the series by hand for a total of 2490 impressions (not including artist's proofs which are experimental impressions taken to evaluate color and registration).

For each impression, I mixed the exact color of ink (which often takes hours), applied the ink to the block with a roller, registered the paper to the block, and hand cranked the block through an antique Challenge proof press. With the woodcut "Long Valley Morning" I passed each woodcut through the press eleven times which means that the thirty sheets of that series passed through the press 330 times.

However, before I can print, I have to carve the blocks. I start by drawing a linear drawing, from a plein air sketch, directly onto a block of cherry or bass wood. If the scene has a cloudy sky, for example, I make this drawing define every outline of every cloud. I then carve away the wood that has no lines on it. I then ink this block with black ink and print it onto a piece of vellum (which won't absorb the ink). I then place a new, uncut block into my press, register the vellum and run it through the press. This presses the wet ink outline onto each block. In the clouds, I may want to fill each shape with a light blue gray. So on the light blue-gray block, I carve away everything except where I want that color to appear. I then go back to the original black block and carve away the outline of the clouds. This technique is called "lost key printing" because the original linear woodcut (or key) is carved away. Some of the key block is usually retained as the deepest notes of the print (but rarely black and few if any linear details). This laborious process was used by woodcut artists such as Gustave Baumann. It creates a less linear and more painterly looking woodcut. It takes a lot of fine tuning between the various blocks to get them to all work in harmony together, and every block that is added makes it exponentially more difficult. When the ink is dry, I hand emboss and hand deckle each print.

I prefer to call the art created by this method "woodcuts" rather that "prints" because the process has nothing to do with modern photographic or computer printing. Each woodcut is hand made and unique. I carefully deliberate over each color of every impression. I carefully adjust each impression to give maximum aesthetic value. Slight variations are made into strengths by adjusting the following impression which gives the woodcut texture and vibrancy. Only the very best are selected for the final editions.