Linocut for Artists and Designers

Nick Morley

• Publisher: Crowood
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781785001451
• eBook ISBN: 9781785001468
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art Techniques

Linocut is used to stunning effect by artists, illustrators and designers because of its strong graphic qualities, accessibility and versatility. Whether you are printing by hand on your kitchen table or on a press in a print studio, this book gets you started and goes on to explore the myriad creative applications of linocut. It encourages you to experiment with different approaches to image making and explores new ways of thinking about how linocut can be used. Nick Morley shares his experience and specialist knowledge to make this practical guide an essential companion for everyone interested in this addictive and absorbing medium. Detailed information on which tools to buy, where to find the best materials, and how to set up your working space backed up with clear, step-by-step instructions and over 300 colour illustrations make this an essential guide to the vibrant and exciting art of linocut.

CHAPTER 1

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

In this chapter you will learn about the materials and equipment you need to make linocuts. The quality of your carving tools, printing inks and paper will have a big effect on the quality of your prints, as well as your enjoyment of the process, so it is worth spending some time researching your options before you buy. Please read this chapter carefully so that you can make informed decisions from the start. Most art shops will sell some linocut materials but they won’t necessarily be good quality. You may be better off looking on the internet for certain items or visiting a specialist printmaking supplier. A list of suppliers is included at the back of this book.

Basic kit

Basic kit: cutting tools, lino, ink, roller, wooden spoon, ink slab.

It is relatively inexpensive to buy the tools and materials you need to get started making linocuts. A basic starter kit will include cutting tools, lino, an ink roller (also known as a brayer), ink, paper and some kind of hand-printing tool. This can be a wooden spoon or similar hard wooden object. This is all you need to start with and shouldn’t cost too much.

If you are becoming really serious about making prints, especially on a larger scale, you may want to try using a printing press. Although it is by no means a necessity to have a press for making prints there are certain benefits: it is quicker to make each print, easier to print solid blocks of colour and possible to print onto a wider range of papers than printing by hand. You may be lucky enough to live close to an open access printmaking studio or college where you can have access to facilities or you may want to buy your own press. Chapter 3 contains information on the different types of press available.

Other useful items

Cutting mat, craft knife, pencils (HB and 2B), marker pens, brush pen, eraser, steel ruler, set square, carbon paper, tracing paper, masking tape, non-slip mat, sheet of glass or perspex/plexiglass/acrylic, ink knife or spatula, baren (a Japanese printing tool), newspaper, rags for cleaning, water sprayer.

Useful items: cutting mat, non-slip mat, scissors, marker pens, steel ruler, craft knife, carbon paper, tracing paper, eraser, pencils.

A brush pen makes a wide range of marks and is useful for developing your design.

Protective clothing

No matter how careful you are, when you are printing you will inevitably get ink on you at some point. Because printing ink tends to be slow drying it can easily spread from your clothes to other surfaces. Keep a set of old clothes for printing or wear an apron or overalls to protect your clothes. If you are buying an apron, go for a full length one with a pocket, useful for keeping a rag handy for cleaning. Choose one made out of thick cotton as ink can seep through thinner fabrics. Art suppliers usually sell good quality aprons, or try a catering supplier, which may be cheaper. You will also need a pair of rubber gloves for cleaning up ink. Keep a pair to use just for printing, don’t use your kitchen ones. If you prefer you can get a box of disposable latex or vinyl gloves.

Hang your gloves up on pegs to dry.

Linoleum

History and manufacture of linoleum

Linoleum, or lino, was first invented as a cheap flooring material in 1863 by Englishman Frederick Walton. Its name comes from the Latin words linum meaning ‘flax’ and oleum meaning ‘oil’ and it was manufactured from a mixture of oxidized linseed oil, cork dust and pine resin with a backing of hessian or jute material. Following widespread use up until the 1950s, linoleum was replaced as flooring by other materials, including plastics. Today genuine linoleum is still used for flooring and is favoured by some for its ecological properties as it is made from natural, renewable materials. Be aware that some companies make products which they call linoleum but are, in fact, made of other substances. Some of these can be used for linocut but most are too hard or covered in a thick varnish which makes cutting difficult. If in doubt, ask if it is genuine linoleum before you buy. Look for the hessian backing and also give it a sniff – it should smell of linseed oil.

Where to buy linoleum

Linoleum for artists is available from art suppliers and comes in several varieties. The ‘battleship grey’ lino is the finest grade and is smooth and free of large particles, making it good for detailed work. When it is fresh it is very soft and easy to cut. Other available colours include tan and brown but these tend to be slightly coarser and harder to cut. All lino can be heated gently on a radiator or in the sun to soften it but it will make it slightly crumblier to cut and is best avoided for the finest detail.

You can buy lino in pre-cut blocks in most art shops but if you want to work on a large scale, rolls of grey lino up to several feet wide are available from specialist suppliers. If you are going to be using a lot it will work out cheaper to buy a large sheet and cut it to size yourself. Store your lino flat if possible and away from sunlight and extremes of temperature as over time this will make it go hard and brittle. Warm the lino gently with a hairdryer before unrolling it to stop it cracking. If it refuses to flatten out you can glue mount it onto a piece of wood. You will sometimes find tiny flecks of lino stuck to the surface. These should be removed with a blunt knife or fingernail otherwise they will print as little white halos or dark blobs.

Some suppliers stock lino blocks pre-mounted onto wood. These can be useful if you are printing on a press designed for printing letterpress type, as the extra thickness of the wood brings the surface of the lino up to the same height as the type, or ‘type high’. However, it’s not usually necessary and costs more than unmounted lino.

Alternatives to linoleum

Alternatives to traditional linoleum include Japanese vinyl and Softcut, both of which are manufactured for the purpose of making prints. Neither is available in as large a size as the traditional lino. They are possibly easier to cut but they have a rubbery, plastic quality which carves slightly differently to the crumblier lino. They also have a hard, smooth surface which prints colours flatter than lino and won’t give such a range of textures. However, you may prefer them so try them if you wish. For the purposes of this book, you can use them as an alternative to lino for most of the projects, with the exception of etched lino.

Types of lino: traditional linoleum in brown, yellow and grey. Softcut is a yellowish white. Japanese vinyl has a blue side and a green side.

Other, cheaper materials you might like to try include flooring tiles, polystyrene and MDF. Flooring tiles come in a range of materials, some of which will be easier to carve than others. Polystyrene can give some interesting printed textures and can be drawn into using a ball-point pen, to create lines that will print white. MDF is favoured by some artists but is harder to cut and will blunt your tools more quickly.

Carving wood, although closely related to linocut, is too large a subject to cover in this book. The history of woodcut is long and illustrious and it would be impossible to do it justice in a few pages. However, there are many similarities with linocut and much can be learnt by looking at the work of woodcut artists such as Albrecht Dürer and Emil Nolde, as well as the Japanese ukiyo-e woodblocks of Hokusai and Hiroshige. Wood engraving, another related artform, although it uses different tools, is also worth looking at, in particular the work of Thomas Bewick.

Mounted lino blocks can be bought ready made or you can mount your own by glueing the block to a piece of MDF or plywood with PVA glue.

Cutting tools

There is a large variety of tools suitable for linocut and with a little research you will find good tools that fit your budget. It is not necessary to spend a fortune on a set of Japanese tools made by ex-Samurai sword makers; at least, not to start with. You may end up buying a tool you use once and never pick up again. To start with it is better to buy a cheap set to see which tools you use the most and upgrade if and when you feel the need. Having said that, a set of poor quality tools may put you off linocut for life so it’s worth knowing what to look for.

Note: Tools sold for woodcut are suitable for carving lino, but some tools sold for linocut may not be good enough for carving wood.

Shape of handle

Carving tools come with handles in a variety of shapes. The two most common are mushroom-shaped and pencil-shaped. Mushroom-shaped ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 Materials and Equipment
• 2 Getting Started
• 3 Printing on a Press
• 4 Black and White
• 5 Colour
• 6 Fine Art Prints, Illustration and Graphics
• 7 Fabric Printing, Paper Products and Artists’ Books
• 8 Advanced Techniques
• Suppliers
• Index