This is a new abstract linocut print titled, Borrowed Time. The block print has a graphic feel with circular and triangular geometric shapes contained within a red structure. It’s printed on 16” x 20” white Stonehenge paper.

Borrowed Time (2021) - Lino Print

Part of the process I enjoyed with this particular linocut was coming up with the three colors that would work best - I did tests with different variations. I made the lino print using the jigsaw printmaking technique. In the photo below, you’ll see some of the different carved linoleum blocks I used.

Linoleum Blocks

It’s currently available on Etsy.

I recently finished a large lino print using my Conrad monotype press. It was the first big linocut I made on it. The linoleum cut print was made using the jigsaw method - a great way to make multi-color prints. Essentially, with this technique you cut your linoleum block into pieces, which are then inked separately, and put back together (like a jigsaw) before printing.

First layer of an assembled jigsaw linocut.

Here are some tips that I’ve learned when making jigsaw lino prints with unmounted linoleum:

• Starting with a whole piece of linoleum, I usually first deeply carve the outline of the jigsaw pieces with a v-gouge.

• If I’m not trying to be too exact, I might use some good sissors to cut out the shapes. If I want more precise cuts, I use a wood carving or X-Acto knife.

• Trim any stray bits of burlap that overhang the edges.

• Ink the lino pieces separately before assembling them into a whole.

• Draw an outline of the assembled jigsaw on a piece of newsprint. In other words, if it’s a 11”x14” print, I’d draw an 11”x14” rectangle on newsprint. This gets placed underneath the inked jigsaw pieces so when you go to place the inked blocks down to print, you know they all need to fit within this outline.

On the pink section of my new 30”x 24” linocut print in the photo, I did a reduction and printed a second pattern on top. This is the final linoleum cut print.

Finished jigsaw linocut print

My family and I took a wonderful trip to Scandinavia a few years ago and one of the places we visited was the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway. I was taken with the aesthetics of the old viking ships they had on display and knew I wanted to somehow incorporate them into a print.

Viking Ship Museum in Oslo

I let the idea stew for a while and after illustrating a concept, I started carving a large 21-inch wide block of linoleum (mounted on plywood) last year and researched old Viking proverbs and alphabets (runes). I wanted to incorporate words into the composition and came across this perfect Icelandic proverb, "There seldom is a single wave." The proverb is found online amongst others here and here. I used websites like this one from PBS and here to translate the proverb into runes, as best I could.

Initial carving of the block in 2013

Frustratingly, I got to the point while carving last year where I didn't know how I wanted to proceed so I put the project off to the side for a while. Enter my new jigsaw and an 'aha' moment - I cut the carved block roughly into two halves. After taking some test prints, I realized that the blocks worked so much better printed on top of each other than as a larger reduction print, as I had originally envisioned.

Test printing the two blocks in 2014

I recently printed the final edition and it is now hanging to dry. First, I printed the background lino block in blue. Then I took the second block, which contained the ship and text, and cut the portion of the block with the text off that block. This allowed me to print the second layer as a jigsaw print - one color for the ship and a different color for the text. Once the individual blocks are inked with different colors, they're reassembled and printed with the etching press as one. This is how the final print turned out.

Final linocut print tentatively titled, "There seldom is a single wave"

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This is a new Mt. Tamalpais linocut made using both the reduction and jigsaw methods. It's a limited edition of 16 prints. For those interested in geometry, its composition takes into account the golden ratio. And, yes, I know everyone's eyes glazed over that last part...

Mt. Tamalpais - Linocut Print

I finally finished this 12" x 16" linoleum block print inspired by the view of San Francisco across the bay from Oakland.

Oakland Port / San Francisco - Linocut Print

Half Dome is one of the iconic sights of California's beautiful Yosemite National Park. This is the second woodcut print in my Yosemite series - the first being El Capitan.

Half Dome - Woodblock Print

At first glance this might not look like a map of California. It's a linocut print showing the busiest airports in the state. I also have a U.S. version and some people have told me that these map prints remind them of chemistry and biology.

California Map - Linocut Print