Woodblock Print of Sundial Mountain

Years ago in high school, we had several weeks of printmaking and that is when I fell in love with art. I made quite a few woodblock prints over the next few years but then slowly gave it up as adult life began to dominate my time.

In May I saw an exhibition of linoleum prints from the Danish artist Dea Trier Mørch and realized how much of my style is an outcome of the printmakers’ use of two colors, often black and white, to convey an image. When I got home I dug out my old tools and packed them for this trip.

The print above is on an 8 x 20-inch cottonwood scrap from the research ranch where we are staying this week. My paper is not quite long enough (notice the seam is on the right-hand side where I taped two sheets of paper together) and I used acrylic paint for ink, but it is my first print after some 40 years and I feel so happy. This whole process from design, to carving, to printing, feels wonderful, like meeting up with a long lost friend.

And the block is below, waiting for proper ink and paper.

Wood Block of Sundial Mountain