Creating “Summer Oasis” linocut
Original Print – Linocut on Paper
A landscape block print inspired by long summer days sitting in green open spaces surrounded by the blue shade of trees.
This particular oasis exists in the centre of the town of Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK. The green spaces in the city are called ‘The Strays’, but it could be a view of any English green space.
A picture of a picnic
With lots of trees, in this case Horse Chestnut, and a church spire in the background, it's one of those lazy Summer days made for picnics in the sun.
A group of people sit together in the park, perhaps on a picnic blanket, chatting in cool shade that stretches out across the space. This print is true to the sketch I did of the scene.
Picnics in open spaces in summer are a joy, sitting out on a blanket with sandwiches, and flasks of tea and coffee. There's something lovely about an impromptu get together in the fresh&nbp;air.
Parks and greens in villages or cities seem to be a feature of British life. In some places, the open spaces are called common land or strays.
Since making this lino print I've become more inspired by these oasis of vegetation within built‑up areas as subjects for landscape art.
This original print has been made using the reduction‑cut printmaking method. The approach uses a single block of lino that's cut away a little more after each colour is printed.
Every print in this edition was individually put through my printmaking press four times. It's a hand operated press – no plugs or on/off switches are involved in the making of my original prints.
Original prints are a specific kind of print. They are hand‑made using equipment based on old antique technology no longer used by industry today. Mine is a new press, but it's the same as presses used hundreds of years ago (Mine's actually an etching press, a technology invented in the 1500s, I believe).
Original prints are individually printed by the printmaker themselves (though some hire a buddy to do it for them). The point is: original prints aren't printed by a printing machine. There's no going off for a cuppa leaving a machine printing the prints.