Anatomy of a Print

The thing that I love about lino cuts is the process. These posts will provide additional detail on how I made some of the cuts in the gallery.

A brief, possibly unclear introduction to lino cuts

Lino cuts are essentially homemade stamps, so it includes working in the reverse and with subtractive methods- in contrast to drawing and painting where you create an image by adding to the surface, with a lino block you start by subtracting or scraping away lino from the block. Here’s a breakdown.

  • Get the reference image: Take the desired image (or images) and upload to mirror-image generator to get a reference image.
  • Sketch: Begin to sketch on the block. I like to shade heavily as I go to get a better sense of what the end print will look like, imitating texture as much as possible.
  • Pre-Cut Check: Once I’m ready to cut, I double check to make sure that the text is mirrored. There is nothing worse than cutting a block and realizing you have to do it all over again because the text is wrong.
  • Cut: The cutting process involves removing what-will-be the white areas of the image. Again, this feels quite different from the process most folks are used to. Thinking again of a stamp, the subtractive process leaves the parts that will be inked and transferred to the paper or other surface later.
  • No Takebacks: As I go, I try to err on the side of leaving more of the block since you can always shave off more, but you can’t add anything back. Lino has a firm finality to it.
  • Roll ’em: When I am satisfied, I get out the inks and brayers (rollers) and smooth the ink on the surface. Then I take a piece of paper and a deep breath before placing the paper on the inked block. Using the back of a wooden spoon, I apply even pressure over the block until I decide to pull it off.
  • Edits: From there, I can make additional adjustments as needed. If I want to add watercolor, I have to wait a few days for the oil-based inks to full dry. They get strung up around my apartment and my entire place smells of oil.
  • Second Cut: If I have decided to make a two-tone, single block cut (like the Ford School or the pomegranate), the first cut will result in a batch of prints in the lighter ink. In order to get the second layer, it requires another round of sketching and cutting. If the first cut left the white space on the page, the second cut leaves the lighter color ink showing.
  • Second Roll: Repeat the printing process with the second cuts. Remember, since there are no takebacks in linocuts, the number of final cuts is predicated on the number of first cuts I rolled out.

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