Slowly with Warts and All

I have finished a new reduction linocut print called ‘Toad and Snail’. It is inspired by all things witchy and celestial, with the creatures in the centre of the composition and a hopeful shooting star overhead.

Linocutting is a slow, old fashioned way of printing. Slow like a snail! And because I print by hand (not by a machine) little variations in texture and ink marks will occur. You have to love these imperfections. You have to love the warts and all!

I am learning to embrace all these little mistakes. Are you a linocut printmaker too? Surly you agree! Perhaps you own a professional press and suffer fewer toad-like warts when you print!

I’ve enjoyed exploring lots of texture with the cutting on this print. I’ve used hatching, I’ve played with the thickness of my lines, and experimented with a dot making tool.

In reduction printing each colour layer is printed from the same piece of lino. Lino is carved away for each layer and colour is added on top of the last, which means I can’t go back to print more. There are only ten prints in this edition.

I’m already planning my next design. If you like ‘Toad and Snail’ original prints can be purchased from Etsy.