Inside the Artist’s Studio

Making the (lino)Cut

The art of printmaking is far from dead…

Ever Wondered How to Make a Lino Cut?

Walking into Dad’s studio these days reminds me of entering an alleyway somewhere in a village in Italy. Instead of laundry fluttering in the breeze, a couple of dozen sheets of paper hang in neat rows from clotheslines. They are images, of a sort, but incomplete.

After taking a fifty-year-ish long break, Dad has decided to revisit an earlier passion: printmaking.

As part of his formal training in England (he studied first at Sunderland College of Art and then went on to do an advanced degree at the Royal College of Art in London) Dad learned printmaking along with drawing, painting, design, architecture, anatomy, and sculpture. His major was painting and he went on to have a long and successful career, working primarily in oils and mostly exploring the landscape as a major theme.

It has been many, many years since he last prepared silkscreens or cut lino blocks for the purpose of making prints. I’m not quite sure what compelled him to pick up printmaking again, but it sure is fascinating to watch the final images come into being.