Research: Lino printing

Lino printing research

Linoleum was invented in the nineteenth century as a floor covering and is fundamentally a canvas backing coated with a preparation of solidified linseed oil. It became popular with artists and amateurs for printmaking in the twentieth century who began cutting into the surface and using it as a stamp or printmaking tool.

The "lino block" consists of a thin layer of linoleum usually mounted on wood. The soft linoleum can be cut away more easily than a wood-block and in any direction (as it has no grain) to produce a raised surface that can be inked and printed. Its slightly textured surface accepts ink evenly.

John Banting

Explosion 1931

Relief print on paper

image: 83 x 127 mm 

The above print is quite basic and for me, tries to explore the theme of explosion, however only achieves it in a cubist/geometric approach. John Banting has used the expected red and yellow inks. (typical colors you may use to explore heat or fire etc) and has cut representational lines and "flashes" to create lines of negative space which could appear to show flashes or bangs. For me an explosion is free and blurred with an unclear edge so the image above isn't my favorite for its communicative appeal of a theme, but I enjoy the use of colour. The ink has been combined on the plate, yellow on one side and red on the other, blended to create an orange in the centre, and will have been applied to paper in one print layer.

Pablo Picasso

Portrait of a Woman after Cranach the Younger 1958

Linocut on paper

image: 645 x 533 mm

Picasso's Portratit of a woman shown above has been created through multiple prints layered atop one and other to create a full range of color and depth. His individual style maintained trough lino printings typical bold lines and inclusions of rough texture. The slight displacement of colour creates a more interesting end result.

Above, Sarah Edmonds image created through lino printing inspired by a quote from Groucho Marx, "Outside a dog, a book is a mans best friend, but inside a dog it is too dark to read"

The use of inverted contrasting colors and positive/negative space has been used to create a well balanced and now very recognized image. You can see some of the textured strokes created through the cutting process in the wider areas of the image which adds depth to the image.

I enjoy the handwritten unmeasured approach to text in combination with the image.