Linocut for Artists and Designers E-Book

Nick Morley

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Linocut is used to stunning effect by artists, illustrators and designers because of its strong graphic qualities, accessibility and versatility. Whether you are printing by hand on your kitchen table or on a press in a print studio, this book gets you started and goes on to explore the myriad creative applications of linocut. It encourages you to experiment with different approaches to image making and explores new ways of thinking about how linocut can be used. Nick Morley shares his experience and specialist knowledge to make this practical guide an essential companion for everyone interested in this addictive and absorbing medium. Detailed information on which tools to buy, where to find the best materials, and how to set up your working space backed up with clear, step-by-step instructions and over 300 colour illustrations make this an essential guide to the vibrant and exciting art of linocut.

Leseprobe

Nick Morley

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2016 byThe Crowood Press LtdRamsbury, MarlboroughWiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2016

© Nick Morley 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 146 8

Acknowledgements

Massive thanks to my partner Catherine, for her encouragement and understanding, and for laughing at my jokes and spotting missing commas. Also to my photographer Hazeleigh Prebble, for his unending patience, beautiful photographs and willingness to stand on chairs to find the best angle. To Ian Youngs for laying out the pages elegantly and juggling all the images and words to fit nicely. To Steve Edwards, Wuon-Gean Ho and Andrew Watt for teaching me new techniques. To all the artists and designers who have contributed to this book and created such inspiring works. To everyone at East London Printmakers and Resort Studios in Margate for their encouragement. Last but not least to my parents Anne and Neal for encouraging me to become an artist in the first place and supporting me every step of the way.

CONTENTS

Introduction

1   Materials and Equipment

2   Getting Started

3   Printing on a Press

4   Black and White

5   Colour

6   Fine Art Prints, Illustration and Graphics

7   Fabric Printing, Paper Products and Artists’ Books

8   Advanced Techniques

Suppliers

Index

INTRODUCTION

Linocut

Linocut is a versatile and popular printmaking process which attracts both professional and amateur artists and designers. It is easy to learn and simple enough to do at home. The materials you will need are widely available and can be bought cheaply. However, many people who start making linocuts give up because they cannot control the tools and are unsatisfied with the quality of their prints. In some cases they will end up with cut fingers and this is enough to put them off for life. With some inside knowledge and a few simple tips all this can be avoided and you will be able to make beautiful prints. This book will show you how.

What is linocut?

Linocut is a form of relief printing. This is the family of techniques which includes woodcut, wood engraving, letterpress, rubber stamping and potato printing. To make a relief print, ink is applied to the surface of the prepared block and then transferred under pressure onto another surface, usually paper. The print is a mirror image of the block.

A linocut print is simply a relief print made from a block of linoleum. To make a traditional linocut, any unwanted areas of linoleum are carved away with gouges and the block is inked up with an ink roller. The ink is only transferred to the raised, uncarved parts. It is then pressed onto the paper using a printing press or by hand with a tool. The block is then re-inked before making the next print.

There are many ways of making prints with lino, some of which don’t involve cutting at all. These include drilling, scraping and etching the block with chemicals. This can result in a wide range of effects, some of which look very different from the typical graphic style often associated with linocut. As well as traditional linocut, this book explores some of these more unusual ways of making prints.

History

For centuries wood was the material of choice for making relief prints. It was plentiful and gave beautiful results. Then, in the late nineteenth century an Austrian educationalist called Franz Cižek began using the newly invented linoleum for his art classes. It was softer and easier to cut than wood, making it ideal for children to use. Cižek was friends with some influential artists and the use of linoleum for printing spread through Europe. The first historically important artists to make linocuts were the German expressionist artists, known collectively as Die Brücke (The Bridge), with founder member Erich Heckel making his first recorded print in 1903. After that such big names as Matisse and Picasso were drawn to the strong graphic qualities of linocut. In Mexico and Russia these same qualities made it the perfect medium for printing political posters. Today linocut has been adopted by artists, illustrators and designers the world over.

Linocut today

Linocut is wrongly seen by some as a slightly crude artform, lacking refinement and nuance. Much of this prejudice is down to memories of school art classes, with cut fingers resulting from the use of blunt tools and tough, old bits of lino. Dried-up, poor quality inks may also have contributed to the pain, giving patchy prints. In fact your experience of linocut needn’t be like this at all. With the right tools, some helpful guidance and a little practice you will quickly learn to control the carving process. And with the right inks, roller and choice of paper you will learn how to make high quality prints, time after time.

The hands-on nature of linocut makes it appealing to a wide spectrum of creative people. In recent years it has been taken up by illustrators and graphic designers who are tired of staring at a computer screen all day. Fashion and fabric designers are making bespoke wallpapers, clothes and lampshades. Linocut elements make up animations, artists’ books and installations; paste-up designs appear as street art alongside spraypaint graffiti, and a new generation of makers, artists and designers are selling their products online through sites like Folksy and Etsy to a public hungry for hand-crafted and unique items.

About this book

Recent years have seen a resurgent interest in printmaking in all its forms. Linocut is especially attractive to those with limited resources. Unlike screenprinting, etching and lithography, linocut does not require lengthy technical training, dangerous chemicals or bulky and expensive equipment. It is cheap and easy to get started. All you need are a gouge, some lino, ink, roller, paper and a wooden spoon. In an hour a beginner working on the kitchen table can carve and print a simple one-colour design.

At this stage many will believe they have reached the pinnacle of their linocut abilities. The aim of this book is to help those who want to reach the next level and make more ambitious prints. You will be guided step by-step through a series of practical projects that will give you a deeper understanding of your materials and how to work with them to get better results every time. You will be given a thorough introduction to the linocut basics: how to select and look after your tools, which materials to buy, how to perfect your carving and printing techniques and trouble-shooting guides for when things go wrong in printing. And you will be introduced to new ways of using lino to create unexpected marks, textures and finishes on a variety of materials.

As well as being a practical guide, this book will explore the myriad creative applications of linocut, from prints on paper, through illustration and graphic design, ceramics, fabrics, and street art to installation, animation, books and sculpture. You will be encouraged to experiment with new approaches to image making and new ways of thinking about how linocut can be used. To provide extra inspiration and context the book also features profiles of contemporary practitioners along with images of their work.

CHAPTER 1

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

In this chapter you will learn about the materials and equipment you need to make linocuts. The quality of your carving tools, printing inks and paper will have a big effect on the quality of your prints, as well as your enjoyment of the process, so it is worth spending some time researching your options before you buy. Please read this chapter carefully so that you can make informed decisions from the start. Most art shops will sell some linocut materials but they won’t necessarily be good quality. You may be better off looking on the internet for certain items or visiting a specialist printmaking supplier. A list of suppliers is included at the back of this book.

Basic kit

Basic kit: cutting tools, lino, ink, roller, wooden spoon, ink slab.

It is relatively inexpensive to buy the tools and materials you need to get started making linocuts. A basic starter kit will include cutting tools, lino, an ink roller (also known as a brayer), ink, paper and some kind of hand-printing tool. This can be a wooden spoon or similar hard wooden object. This is all you need to start with and shouldn’t cost too much.

If you are becoming really serious about making prints, especially on a larger scale, you may want to try using a printing press. Although it is by no means a necessity to have a press for making prints there are certain benefits: it is quicker to make each print, easier to print solid blocks of colour and possible to print onto a wider range of papers than printing by hand. You may be lucky enough to live close to an open access printmaking studio or college where you can have access to facilities or you may want to buy your own press. contains information on the different types of press available.