Linoleum Prints

Artist Statement

The idea that guided this artwork was creating a minimalistic carved linoleum block with a 50/50 ratio of Black to white. I ended up with four final prints which included a regular black and white ink print, a multicolored print, an extended print which was a regular print that I watercolored over, and a Unique surface print.

The materials I used for this artwork were ink, paper, and watercolor.

The process I went through with my artwork was starting with a design for my linoleum block. I found a picture of my friend that I loved and took the outline of that to create my carved design. I decided I wanted a reverse shadow effect where the "shadow" is white and the background is black. I then started on my prints. It took 20 tries to get the perfect print for just the black and white prints. I then started up on my multicolored block. My multicolored print was two-toned with brown and black. For this print, I started with an all-brown uncarved block as my background and then printed over it my carved print with black ink. In between prints, I would have to wash off my block because the ink would build up and make an unclean print. For the extended print, I printed one last black carved print and decided to watercolor a rainbow over it. Finally, for my unique surface, I decided to create my print on black construction paper with red ink because it is sort of mysterious. Luckily, this print took only one try.