Linoleum Prints

These are four of seventeen prints I made using a design I carved in linoleum. The assignment for this project was to create prints using the linoleum I carved and printing ink. The project requirement was that I chose four "perfect" prints—one solid color, one on a non-traditional background, one multi-colored, and one that is hand manipulated using other media. I created a total of seventeen prints using a picture of my shadow as a reference and chose these four as my best ones.

To create this piece I first chose a high contrast picture that I had taken. By outlining the white spaces with soft graphite and then pressing it into the linoleum, the backward image would be outlined on the linoleum. I first carved out the outline of the shadow and then added bricks on either side to make it more interesting. I left the positive space for the bricks on the left and the negative space for the bricks on the right. I then began printing using printing ink, and a breyer or paintbrush. I would first roll or paint the ink onto the linoleum, put paper over it, and then use a press to press the ink onto the paper. The process involved a lot of trial and error in order to create prints that neither had too much into (which would cover white spaces) nor too little ink (which left empty splotches in the colored spaces. The multi-colored print was the most time consuming and required the most trials because I had to paint the ink on instead of rolling it. This made creating even layers difficult.

I chose the shadow image for my print first because it had high contrast and secondly it was an interesting picture. I took the picture in Boston returning from the Lynch Family Skatepark. My shadow was against the road and my skateboard was strapped to my backpack. I chose a picture of bricks for my non tradition background because it made for a good and fitting texture for the background of the print. For my hand manipulated print I added graffiti using paint pens which added color and affect to the urban setting the print already created.