Linoleum Prints

When I created this design, I had just gotten back from Denver, Colorado, where the views, specifically of the mountains, are absolutely stunning. This inspired my design of mountains with snowy peaks, a sun with bright rays, and some hills and land in front. This design brings a foreground, middleground, and background which provides depth and more details. The four different prints each bring a different element to the design and show how much it can vary depending on circumstances. I really like the simplicity of the design but also how well it portrays a real mountain view at the same time.

These four different images are all a different print from the linoleum block. I started out by carving my design onto the linoleum block itself and making sure all the white spaces were fully carved out. From there I was able to use printing ink and drawing paper to roll ink onto the linoleum block. I then placed the paper down flat and even, pressed down on all parts of the paper, and slowly peeled the paper away from the block. One print, the bottom left, was a plain single color print which I used black for. The bottom right was a multicolor print, which I used red and yellow for, which I really liked because it sort of looked like a sunset and mixed in the middle to create a pretty orange. The top right was a manipulated print, which I printed out with purple ink, then used colored pens to added designs afer, or manipulate it. Lastly is the top left, the only print that isn't on white drawing paper. This was a nontraditional surface and I used purple ink to print onto newspaper. These four prints are all pretty different, but the design is all the same.

After finishing my design and completing all four prints, I really like the way it looks. I think that while there isn't a ton of difficult, small details, it's complicated enough to look accurate. If I were to go back and change something, I would probably just make my lines a bit neater and make sure that all the carved out parts are fully carved out so no ink shows up in the white spaces. During the printing process I would also make sure that the ink is fully coating the entire linoleum block so the print comes out even and solid on the whole thing. I think the landscape approach was a good way to go for this design and I like the one I created.