I’ve started a series of abstract aerial landscape linocut prints that I’ve been working on since last year. They’re original artworks made from hand-carved linoleum blocks and I have three in the series so far.

As I’ve talked about before, I try to take a lot of photos out of the airplane window every time I fly. I love that view. Earlier this year, I was reading a library book about Georgia O’Keeffe and was surprised to find out that she too was inspired by views from the airplane window.

I’ve titled the series, “Aloft,” and these are the first three abstract lino prints.

Aloft I - Linoleum Block Print

Aloft II - Lino Print

Aloft III - Linocut Print

This is a short video of me printing Aloft II from linoleum blocks on an etching press in my printmaking studio. I used the same process for each of the prints in the series.

I’ve done a lot of work drawn from my passion for plane flight - you might be interested in these past posts:

This is a one-of-a-kind print that combines several printmaking techniques, including linocut, trace monotype and stencil. It's part of a series of artworks depicting the final approach into San Francisco International Airport (SFO) as you fly over the Bay and the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge. The East Bay hills, including Mt. Diablo, are in the background.

Landing at SFO Airport

The unframed print is on white paper measuring about 14" x 22" and comes numbered (1/1), titled ("Approach I") and is signed in pencil. It’s available in my shop.

My newest linoleum block print is of an airplane window seat view at dusk. It's printed with Schmincke Aqua Linoprint Ink on 250 gsm Stonehenge paper. I was playing with that feeling of flying over a city and looking out at the sprawling, lit up urban landscape below.

I remember that great 1990's Liz Phair song, "Stratford-On-Guy," which starts off with the lyrics, "I was flying into Chicago at night...." That song's video on YouTube is definitely worth a watch. And, for a deep dive into that track, check out PopMatters' take on it.

Here's a little video I made while printing the final layer on my small press, which is a Blick Econo Etch Model II Press. The linocut is part of a series of airplane window view artworks and is now available in my Etsy shop. If you have any questions about how my prints are made, please feel free to email me!

Printing an airplane window view linocut on an Econo Etch Model II Etching Press

I've got a long history of exploring airplane window views in my art, as no surprise to many of you. For instance, I use this aerial view from a plane window linocut a lot online for marketing purposes and it was also used as a book cover. I did a black and white airplane window seat print, too.

I always try to snap some photos from the window seat as references pictures, though, these days, I'm often sitting in the middle and leaning over my son or daughter who are enthralled with something else. Here are a few photos of the sky, land patterns, clouds and airplane wings that I used for my newest art project.

Some references photos for my new airplane window seat print

I wanted to do something a little different with this new print, allowing for more spontaneity and experimenting. First, I did some simple illustrations to play with compositions and colors. I came up with a rough plan and used masking tape to block off areas of a linoleum block while inking the plate for the background sky. I printed several different layers on top of each other. A separate lino block was used for the black layer. Here's a shot from Instagram that helps illustrate the process.

Airplane Window View Linocut Work in Progress

Since I peeled off the tape before printing, I can't print an edition of identical prints but I used some of the lighter ghost prints that I got from the same block. As a result, no two prints are exactly the same.

These are two early versions that I printed on my Blick Econo Etch Model II Press and I'm continuing this series of window seat prints. The new linocut prints are available in my Etsy shop where I have numerous travel and airport prints for sale. 

Two versions of the new airplane window view print. Printed on my Blick Econo Etch Model II Press.