Introduction to linocut printmaking

A short course - three intense evenings. Linocuts can be printed without a press and don't need a lot of "stuff".

My first "reveal" (on the right, a japanese baren)

In the first session we learned about tools -

Gouges for woodcutting, but can be used for lino also

I speedily found these, and some "plastic lino"

... and about cutting - the V gouge for lines and contours, the round one for removal -

Note the position of the hand (behind the cutting) and the angle of the tool

Warm the lino - and use a grippy mat to stop it slipping (though I found that sometimes it's useful to be able to turn the lino as you cut, for a circle for instance). "You have more control if you stop now and again" said Anne Marie. You don't have to press hard! The width of the line depends on the pressure.

Before inking, use a bristle brush to get rid of any "bits". 

We used Safewash inks - oil based, so they don't dry out immediately, but can be washed with water, and you can use vegetable oil to get rid of any oil residue.

Some test prints, trying to get the amount of ink right, and
 using the baren to rub

 Before the next class I drew out a couple more scenes (from my "Home" series of drawings) onto lino, but didn't get round to attempting to cut them. Too detailed! Will have to rethink,,,

The recently-purchased "plastic lino", and the pattern of a ceramic plate seen in a book, led to a quick block and some experiments with multiple prints and ghost prints -

The jig for registration consists of a piece of cardboard the same size as the printing paper. Place the block in position and draw round it; once the inked block is in place, the paper is aligned with the card,

Multipositional tryouts

Exciting inking with two colours happening next to me

Some people were using caustic soda to texture sections of the surface, but I decided to leave that for another day. Did try using the relief press, though, and it gave a smoothly dark print. Can similar results be obtained with my bookbinding press?

The third session was about using colour. First Anne Marie showed a block she'd textured with stop-out varnish (the dark bits) and caustic soda, printed in blue -

 I'd made another little plate to try out some textures -

My two-colour trial was a revelation - I'll be looking for ways to use that technique in my project.

Then it was on with my psychedelic not-quite-circle. Anne Marie suggested using extender ink to make paler and darker versions of the colour - and in retrospect I wish I'd done that - but somehow I got sidetracked into mixing first a pale orange and then adding yellow - not that successful as a top layer, so I tried a darker orange instead.

The registration jig in action

What a difference a colour makes

Psychedelic filigree?

Some plain blocks printed up for later 

Hanging up to dry on the ingenious marble rack

Colour blending -

And the effect it can have -

Elsewhere around the table -

The printmaking room at City Lit -

(This post is linked to Off the Wall Friday.)