Further adventures in linocut printing

[nineveh_uk]

This year I've been enjoying a return to art as something I am able to pursue when I'm not feeling great. It's something that can be picked up, put down, done according to the strength available at the time, and crucially does not require looking at a screen. So over the past few weeks in between lying on the sofa, sitting in the garden, and keeping abreast of the washing up, I dedicated some time to carving my next linocut print, a second skier, and over the weekend I printed it. I am very pleased with the way it turned out, with a good sense of movement. It's a design I might well return to for a multi-coloured print in future, although first, it being mid-April, I think I shall do something less snowy. As I put things away yesterday I reflected on how very much I had enjoyed it, it's definitely a medium that works for me.



Less successful was an essay in using acrylic paint mixed with a special relief printing medium in order to print colours. Unfortunately the results were far from satisfactory, being OK at blocks of colour, but downright poor at both printed lines and white lines and generally not giving crisp edges. The result was better when I gave it a try with some Easy Carve blocks from my December course, but still not good, and the comparison to even my very inexperienced efforts with a proper ink were very evident. So it looks like I'm going to have to take the plunge, buy more ink, and develop new skills in colour mixing. This shouldn't be intimidating, it isn't like the concept of mixing yellow and blue to make green is a new one, and yet it is. Plus ink, unlike lino, is expensive. Ah well, the whole point of an experiment is to see if something works.

Comments

[mountainkiss]

You are gifted at this.

[nineveh_uk]

Thank you!

[el_staplador]

I like that! The medium suits the subject very well.

[nineveh_uk]

I definitely see more skiing prints in my future, though possibly not until September.

[moon_custafer]

The linework really evokes the snow!

[nineveh_uk]

Finally, my hours of watching a lot of skiing pay off!

[girlyswot]

That is really, really good.

Lino cutting is not my medium at all, I have learned. I love good lino prints and, well, mine just aren't. They look great in my head and terrible on the page. I have really enjoyed screen printing, though, but it's so messy to do at home!

[nineveh_uk]

That's really frustrating, especially because it is such a good medium for doing at home, with very controllable mess (at least using water-washable inks). Screen printing strikes me as much less 'dining table and kitchen sink'-friendly, unfortunately, which is tough if it is your thing.

[girlyswot]

Well, there are lots of other things that are also my thing. Occasional day courses are probably enough to satisfy my printing urge.

[nineveh_uk]

True, you have a good deal of other creative strings to your bow!

[ironed_orchid]

That looks great! Linocut is a great medium for you.

[nineveh_uk]

Thanks, it definitely seems to be something that works for me.

[ratcreature]

I've come across this browsing my network and unfortunately can't see your picture but get a "not authorized" error. So it seems locked somehow? Just letting you know in case this was unintentional.

[nineveh_uk]

Oops, thanks for the alert, I had meant to make it public for a while. Now done.

[ratcreature]

Thanks for unlocking. It's visible now. It looks very dynamic.

[nineveh_uk]

THanks very much!

[tree_and_leaf]

That looks great!

[nineveh_uk]

Thank you!

[azdak]

That’s really, really good. You’ve got real talent!

[nineveh_uk]

Thank you! It's early days, but I really feel that it's a medium that will enable me to develop artistically (God, that sounds pretentious!)

Ed: So</> pretentious!

[antisoppist]

Well you could say "I want to do more art and get better at it and I've found a kind of art that I'm really good at, although I am also good at drawing in the first place too, and I'm going to do more of it and get even better because I would like to get really good at some form of art and I am enjoying it" but that's an awful lot more words.

And it is really good.

[nineveh_uk]

Well that does mostly summarise it :-) But I hope it will also force me, because of the nature of the medium, to develop in terms of composition, stylistic choices and being less wedded to realism that I hope will also make me better at drawing/painting.

[lilliburlero]

That's brilliant!

[nineveh_uk]

Thank you!

[petra]

I love the sense of movement in this piece!

[nineveh_uk]

Thanks. I worked from a photograph (unsurprisingly!) and that was something I really wanted to capture.

[violsva]

That's really lovely!

[nineveh_uk]

Thank you!

[pensnest]

That is very cool - real sense of movement.

[nineveh_uk]

Thanks, I really wanted to achieve that.

[green_knight]

This is stunning! I love how dynamic it is. Thank you for sharing!

[nineveh_uk]

Thank you! I was really keen to create a dynamic effect.

[mummimamma]

I like it, it has a great feeling of movement!

[nineveh_uk]

Thank you!

[carbonel]

Very nice! I like the way it evokes the feel of speed.

Back in 7th or 8th grade, we did linocuts in (mandatory) art class. I did one that was supposed to be reminiscent of Japanese woodcuts, of a bird on a bamboo branch. There was a lot of empty space and hat meant a lot of cutting out everything that didn't belong. In the end, I was pretty pleased with the result. That was decades ago, and I no longer have any of the prints or the original source.

[nineveh_uk]

That sounds a really nice print, what a pity that you don't have it any more. (An incentive to do it again??) I love Japanese woodcuts, and there is someone near me who teaches it, but in the end it just fsounds like too much hard work.