One of my most popular linocut prints over the years has been this small West Coast map. I've always wanted to make a much bigger one and it's finally done. This new map block print features the airport codes of major cities on the West Coast, including San Francisco (SFO), San Diego (SAN), Los Angeles (LAX), Portland (PDX) and Seattle (SEA). The limited-edition print comes in two different colors and was made by the reduction method (on the first block) plus a second block for the text and flight path design.

"Pacific Coast" airport code linocut print

I feel lucky to be able to see Mt. Tam everyday, including at the end of the day as the sun sets over the Pacific. I love seeing it from different angles and in changing weather conditions as you travel through the East Bay, Marin County and San Francisco.

Here's a new five-color linocut print - the second in a series (the first Mt. Tam print). This limited edition block print is made partially by the reduction method where the same linoleum block is used to print multiple colors in the print. After a color is printed on the paper using my etching press, more of the block is carved away for the next color. The print can never be replicated because the block has been carved away during the creation process. Two blocks were used for this print.

"West to Mt. Tam II" - Linocut Print

Here are a couple new winter linoleum block prints:

Both linocuts were made using the reduction technique and have two layers of color. I'm thinking of calling the top print 'Last Run' and you might notice the chairlift above the mountains and tree line. With two small kids, I haven't gotten a chance to ski or snowboard lately - oh, I miss it! Snowshoeing has taken their place in recent years. Speaking of skiing, yesterday, I got distracted online (surprise, surprise) and saw a photo of the Dalai Lama riding a chairlift, and something about it - the incongruity of it all - was a total joy. There's an accompanying story on Slate, about his experience seeing skiing for the first time. Good stuff.

Back in the spring, I read that during WWII a seven-mile anti-submarine net was laid in the water across the Golden Gate in San Francisco Bay. This strange little piece of local history stuck with me. While the Bay's famous sites, like the Golden Gate Bridge (finished in 1937), Alcatraz and Angel Island, dominate the view, I'm also fascinated by what is lurking under the water's surface. With all that in mind, I made this limited-edition linocut print titled, "Golden Gate Net," using the reduction method.

"Golden Gate Net" Linocut Print

Mt. Shasta provided the inspiration for the mountain in the background of this two-color, reduction linoleum block print that I finished a few months ago. Beforehand, I did a lot of experimenting with different ways to convey the campfire smoke.

I think of the print as the second in a series of camping prints - this camping print was the first.

"Solitude II" - Camping Linocut Print

"...at last the Lake burst upon us—a noble sheet of blue water lifted six thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea, and walled in by a rim of snow-clad mountain peaks that towered aloft full three thousand feet higher still!" - Mark Twain, from Roughing It.

"A Noble Sheet of Blue Water" - Linocut Print

Medium: Seven-Color, Linoleum Block Print

Titled: "A Noble Sheet of Blue Water"

Edition Size: 9

Measures: 13"x19"

Available for purchase at Etsy.com

It feels great to have finally finished this print, though it wasn't without its challenges! I've included some work in progress shots below and the first shows the finished carving for the first layer of colors of the print. I laid out my colors of ink, which I mixed on glass for a blue roll on the bottom (water), with a separate yellow roll on top (sky). The top roll is a "rainbow" roll with two tones of yellow, creating a color gradient, which adds a little more time to the printing process but creates a cool effect. I made a little template, which is above the linoleum in the photo, to help keep ink off the middle area of the block, while I rolled ink on the linoleum with the two brayers (rollers).

The wooden device on the right is a homemade registration jig that I put on the etching press to make sure the paper and lino block are lined up correctly, so that each subsequent color layer is printed exactly on the layer below it as the printing process continues. Most importantly, there's coffee.

Lake Tahoe Linoleum Block Print Work in Progress

Next, is a shot of the Lake Tahoe print after the first four colors. I used the reduction method for the second layers on the sky and water. Now, I'm ready to carve the mountains on the second block of linoleum.

The sky and water made using the reduction method