Reduction linocut print

Well, it took most of the weekend and Monday evening, but I finished a little class project: a 4-color linocut block print. Here's a little step-by-step tour of the process.

After doing some thumbnails and color studies, I transferred my final drawing onto a 6x8 inch linoleum block. The colors are printed light to dark, with the largest areas printing first. Each color is cut down to print the next color. Because of this, you can never go backwards; the number of prints you make of the first color is the final number you'll have when you're done. Reading about this, I found that the technique is also called "suicide block" printing, which I thought was kind of cool.

1-first cut

Here's the block cut for the first print; just the areas that I wanted to keep white are cut out.

The design is drawn on in waterproof ink, because I'll have to wash the block as I go along. I have the color studies nearby as I carve, to make sure I'm cutting the right areas each time.

This is the first color, printed and hung up to dry. I did a range of yellows and oranges.

2-first print

3-second color

Here's the second color, a lavender purplish-blue.

4-third color

And the third color, a teal green.

5-last color

For the last color, black, you can see that the block is almost gone; just the black image is left.

6-final yellow

The final prints. I thought they turned out pretty good, for my first try. If I re-did this same design, I'd leave more black areas for that last print. And try to get more fine detail. It's not easy carving that linoleum, but I wonder if cutting actual wood might let me make finer cuts. Maybe I just need better tools.

In any case, I had a lot of fun doing this project. It's the first in a series of 6, all of which will be about bees. I'll post them here as I complete them!

7-final orange