Print Making: Linoprint 01

I have done a Lino print previously but it was a few years ago and it didn’t go completely to plan back then so I wasn’t too sure about doing another one. Out of all the print techniques I personally do prefer the look and style of the woodcut print above everything else, it has a certain appeal to me. I have always adored the work of German Expressionism which includes a lot of woodcuts. The other reason I like Linocuts is that you don’t have to rely on a printing press as it can be done at home with a baren, wooded spoon or even with a car with a sheet of wood to protect the paper. However the only thing I don’t like is that if I do too much of it my hands can be bad for a few days due to gout and arthritis. I looked at an old painting I did a years ago (Crown Inn, Stockport) and changed the angle slightly, I bought myself a new tablet for Christmas with a stylus pen so I decided to give it a try. I didn't have Photoshop Touch at the time and had to use a more simple program that was already on my Android tablet.


PLEASE DOUBLE CLICK IMAGES FOR THE LARGEST IMAGE

A couple of minutes quick digital scribble on a tablet using a stylus with Tegra Draw instead of Photoshop Touch.

 

The original pencil sketch for the first Lino print, the image is of the Crown Inn in Stockport.


I didn’t have any larger lino then A5 and it wouldn’t arrive here in time if I ordered on the web, there’s nowhere around here that stocks them. I don’t know if this will work but I’m going to try and put both plates together, it might not work but I have nothing to lose as I won’t get the detail I want in such a small lino. After nearly cutting my fingers off I had reach a point that I needed to print it just to see what mistakes I was making. My hands and fingers were really sore by now and I had to stop cutting the Lino anyway. I made a bit of space found a piece of glass and rolled out the ink, as my room is rather warm the ink started to dry out before I finished. A wooded spoon was used and on the image below you can see the first print.

 

Well what can I say a lot of time has been wasted with this Lino, I knew I shouldn’t have put both board together there’s a big line going all the way down and I don’t know if I can remove it for the next print. There are a lot of things I’m pleased with the viaduct has turned out well also the grass area with the fence. There are also a lot of things I got annoyed with I went wrong with the cut and started getting confused with the black and the light parts and reversed it half way through the plate. The main balls up which is a novice’s mistake is I didn’t reverse the image, I feel totally stupid about this error. Now can I change it, in fact is it really worth trying to fix it? I’m not sure, I need a brew…