What I Used
This print was made using traditional lino and a couple of blades: one narrow and one broad. The ink was black Speedball ink, and it was printed on a piece of yellow cardstock that had been glazed with acrylics. I bought my supplies just for this project, I haven't done block printing since high school!
What I Did
The print was based on a tiny line drawing I had done on paper. I copied the basic lines onto a piece of paper (4" x 6") with charcoal pencil and then place it face-down on the lino and rubbed with a spoon to transfer the image to the lino. Most of the lines were just cut free-hand. It was printed just using pressure by hand. I liked the results a lot, I did a slightly different one on a piece of watercolor paper that had already been painted.
Advice
- The thicker lines were easier to cut and printed well.
- If you have large, open spaces, your cutting lines in those areas may end up showing; I like that effect, but in the future I would pay more attention to the direction in which I'm carving in order to make those lines work better with the design.
- I found I needed to do one or two test prints first before there was really enough ink built up.
Marion Boddy-Evans, Painting Guide, says:
Lovely mixture of pattern in your lino design, and the different colored backgrounds create quite different moods. In the one on acrylic I see "sunset over woodland", and in the one on watercolor I see "cold, moonlit night in the forest".
As you discovered, unless you cut a large area out very cleanly and evenly, the ridges will pick up a little ink. And even then it's possible to dip the edge of roller into it accidentally -- I've found having a border on the design helps prevent this. But as you say, if you cut in a direction that enhances the rest of the design, these little bits don't matter, and can indeed add quite a sense of atmosphere to the print.
