Linocut
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linocut is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for the relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, with the raised (uncarved) areas representing a reversal (mirror image) of the parts to show printed. The cut areas can then be pulled from the backing. The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller (called a brayer), and then impressed onto paper or fabric. The actual printing can be done by hand or with a press.
As the material being carved has no particular direction to its grain and does not tend to split, it is easier to obtain certain artistic effects than with most woods, although the resultant prints lack the wood character of wood block printing. Linoleum is also much easier to cut than wood, which must be carved away, but the pressure of the printing process degrades the plate faster. It is also difficult to create larger works due to the material's fragility.
Colour linocuts can be made by using a different block for each colour, as in woodcut.
Due to ease of use, linocut is widely used at schools to introduce children to the art of printing; similarly, non-professional artists tend to use linocut rather than woodcut. But it was and is also widely used by professional artists, for similar reasons.
[edit] Selected Artists
- Irving Amen, American artist
- Valenti Angelo, American printmaker & illustrator
- Walter Inglis Anderson American artist
- Sybil Andrews Canadian artist
- Georg Baselitz, German artist
- Angel Botello, Spanish-Puerto Rican artist
- Carlos Cortez American poet and artist
- Stanley Donwood, British artist (most famous for his work with British band Radiohead). His work for Thom Yorke's album The Eraser was originally done in linocut.
- Paul McFadden, Canadian Folk artist
- Artemio Rodriguez, Mexican artist
- Ken Sprague, English artist and activist
- Eric Thake Australian artist
- Napier Waller Australian artist
- Folly Cove Designers American design collective
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading
- Rice, William S., Block Prints: How to Make Them, Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Company, 1941.
- Draffin, Nicholas, Australian Woodcuts and Linocuts of the 1920s and 1930s, South Melbourne: Sun Books, 1976.
