So you want to block print, huh? Here’s the basic process. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.
THE MATERIALS
- linoleum blocks. I’ve worked with unmounted linoleum and linoleum that’s mounted on a wooden block. I haven’t noticed a tremendous difference in print quality, but a mounted block is easier to handle while cutting (and safer too!)
- carving tools
- block ink
- brayer
- ink tray
SKETCH YOUR IDEA
Sketch out what you need on paper, and then transfer it to the block. Here’s a sketch I did of Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn. I like to keep my sketches loose to let the linoleum dictate how the final image turns out.
CUTTING THE BLOCK
Now here comes the fun (and painstaking, and sometimes injurious) part: carving away everything you don’t need. Remember, you have to work in reverse and carve away whatever you don’t want to print. Play around with lines and pattern. I try to get a good balance of contrast and have areas of solid black and solid white, as well as various shades in between.
THE FIRST TEST PRINT
Once you’ve cut out your image, it’s time to pull your first test print. As exciting as this is, I’ve never gotten it right on the first try. You see things you want to change as soon as your pull the print. Check your image and see what’s working and what can be improved. For me, I thought the sky and ground came out too dark, as well as the statues on the front of the Grand Army arch. So back to the cutting board!
TWEAKING THE IMAGE
So begins the process of trial-and-error. I normally spend as much time cleaning up the image as I do originally carving it.
Loitering Press 