If you follow my blog you’ll have noticed that lately I’ve been messing around with colours and patterns on paper quite a bit.  Some of the results lend themselves to be overprinted with bold designs and I’ve been working on that idea for the past month (hence the slow-down on my Challenge 30 Jack drawings).

I considered many print options, finally settling on cutting a lino strata partly because I have some pieces lying around ready to use.  As for subject matter, that had me spending time turning the pages of some of my book collection and I made a few preliminary sketches which didn’t inspire at all.  I enjoy seeing what other people do but always want to find my own voice and it wasn’t happening.

I considered some of my own prints that I particularly like and came across two drawings that I’m still very fond of.

My criteria for this floral print project was decided in advance and loosely consisted of the following:

• Design had to be large, so different areas of the lino can be used selectively.
• Design had to have a degree of density and complexity rather than single layer imagery (which is my norm).
• No preliminary drawings in a sketchbook, had to be spontaneous.
• Design to be built by working directly onto lino, one component at a time drawn and cut.
• Design to be produced in depth-of-image order, i.e. foreground first (drawn, cut and finished) followed by mid-ground and background.
• Work on design every day until completed.

I achieved every one of the above criteria and finally finished cutting the lino at 9.40pm yesterday.  I’ve never worked on something without a fairly fully formed design before: I’m a planner, an organiser, a person who likes to know where they’re going.  This was very freeing, just drawing in a space on the lino then cutting without agonising about what was going to fill the rest of the area.

I used the drawings above as my start point and have partially reproduced them in this new print format, and will probably use them again in other formats in the future.

Anyway, I’ve selected my fully cut lino block as my image of the week and I’m enjoying the ‘virginal’ appearance of it before it becomes ink stained.  Although I can’t wait to see the print results.

And then I took a rubbing:

I’m going to love this print.  Obviously once it goes through the press it will print in reverse.