Linocut: A Creative Guide to Making Beautiful Prints

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The art of linocut evolved in the 20th century and was embraced by a wide variety of artists around the world. It has a particularly illustrious history in England due, in part, to the legacy of the Grosvenor School. The lino printmakers associated with this school produced avant-garde multi-color prints in the 1920's-1930's.

There is a wealth of information out there on the internet and it's a great resource! But, how do you know if it's always valid and useful advice? That's the beauty of a good book! If you're you new to printmaking and wanting to learn more about linocut, stamping and relief printing, have a look at these top 10 tried and tested printmaking books. With the best books for complete beginners starting at number 1, to beginner/improvers at number 10; Gentle curves can be made by moving your wrist or arm left and right as you cut forwards. More pronounced curves may require you to move your whole body. Try to keep your hand level as you move, so the cutting tip of the tool remains upright. The list of famous artists who contributed to the art form in its first 50-60 years is long, but they include Edward Bawden, Pablo Picasso, Sybil Andrews, Claude Flight, Frances Gearhart, Leopoldo Mendez, William Rice, and Lill Tschudi, just to name a few. Varied widths of line made by different tools. Notice how the two ends of each line you carve are shaped by the tool. Top to bottom: 1 mm U, 3 mm U, 5 mm U, 1 mm V, large V (shallow cut), large V (deep cut). Even though artists had been using linoleum for decades, linoleum was still considered by some to be a material for students and amateurs but there were enduring contributions to the art form that fought that perception.Lino-Cuts: a Hand-Book of Linoleum-Cut Colour Printing by Claude Flight (1927) - says that Cizek was the first European (“of any standing”) to use lino for printing using European methods.

You will find that you have to push harder with the larger tools, as you are removing more lino. Try to push the tool with your whole arm, using your body weight to generate the force. When you use the smaller tools or make shallower cuts, you need less force – a small movement of the wrist may be enough. Your cutting technique will develop over time, but do try to keep everything relaxed as much as possible … and remember to breathe! In this beautiful and lively book, you feel welcomed into the world of relief printing. The instructions are well set out with easily understood practical guidance, and such a friendly vibe, you can’t fail to want to grab your tools and get started. These books are brilliantly creative and have a wonderful variety of relief and linocut print techniques to try across a range of media, from fabric printing to creating your own stamps. This is a great next step and they will help you to play, explore and experiment with your printing - super fun! The Relief Print: Woodcut, Wood Engraving & Linoleum Cut by Watson and Kent (1945) - mentions that linoleum was used for printing wallpaper in Germany, “as early as 1890.”

Stars

To make a star, carve inwards from the tip of each point of the star towards the centre using the large V-shaped tool. Hold the tool at a steep angle so the point goes down towards the centre of the star. Sam Marshall’s new linocut book positively fizzes with the author’s energy and enthusiasm for her subject. Beautifully and extensively illustrated, largely with her own exuberant prints of her life in the English countryside, she carefully nurtures the reader on their own creative journey with a series of practical, well explained and easy to follow linocutting and drawing projects plus plenty of invaluable practical advice relevant both to the complete beginner and to the more experienced practitioner. Sam's focus is very much on empowering the reader to engage confidently with their chosen art medium and I have no doubt that her warm and inclusive approach will charm and enthuse all her readers. I highly recommend it. Rubber Stamping: Get creative with stamps, rollers and other printmaking techniques, Stephen Fowler, 2016 U.K.-based artist Sam Marshall’s Linocut (...) makes doing it yourself feel approachable, with friendly, precise instructions and projects that build in degrees of complexity Search Press supports the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising of the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (DAAC), and the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA).

The best history of lino printing I’ve found so far is a wonderfully detailed account by Andrea Tietze, titled, “The linocut in history and in the art of the modern age.” It’s found in Linoleum: History, Design, Architecture, 1882-2000 by Ostfildern-Ruit: Hatje Cantz (2000). The exact angle you need to hold the tool will vary slightly depending on which tool you are using. With 18 easy-to-follow projects that can be adapted to suit your own ideas, experienced printmaker Sam Marshall guides you through the whole process from the drawing to the carving to the inking to the printing of creating your own beautiful prints and handmade cards whether you are working from your kitchen table or a more advanced studio set-up.Vienna was amongst the first places where linoleum was used for art. This essay in Schirn Mag gives a nice summary of the relief printmaking movement there around 1900. Though it focuses on the woodcut, it includes Hugo Henneberg’s linocut called, Night Scene - Blue Pond from 1904. With 18 easy-to-follow projects that can be adapted to suit your own ideas, experienced printmaker Sam Marshall guides you through the whole process – from the drawing to the carving to the inking to the printing – of creating your own beautiful prints and handmade cards whether you are working from your kitchen table or a more advanced studio set-up.