Reduction Linocut and Drypoint Print Mix

drypoint and linocut print still life in color of a plate with apples and cheese and crackers
By / 13 Comments / Drypoint and Etching, Printmaking

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Reduction Linocut and Drypoint Print Mix

Snacking Geometry is a Reduction Linocut and Drypoint print still life, created for a print exchange. Printmakers Connect is a group that “meets” at 8:30am Pacific time every Thursday on the audio-only social app Clubhouse. Have you ever listened in?

Printmakers Connect attendees discuss all things print-related, and the group is moderated by printmaker Gregory Santos. There is also a Printmaker’s Connect Instagram account here, so follow along on Instagram for updates and news.

What is a Print Exchange? Printmakers sign up to create a print edition large enough to gift a print to each exchange contributor. The print theme might be based on a color palette, a particular printmaking method, or even a word. If twelve printmakers participate, you’ll each have twelve prints after the exchange is complete. Sound fun? It is!

Quick sketch of a still life idea, and photos of the eventual design setup, arranged in the kitchen with a few edible props. 🙂

Printmaking Print Exchange

Thirty-Four printmakers from the weekly Printmakers Connect group on Clubhouse created editions for this print exchange.

David Wischer is an Assistant Professor from the University of Kentucky School of Art and Visual Studies. Each artist in the exchange sent their completed set of prints to him in Kentucky. David collated all the prints, assembled a colophon for the folio, and will ship a parcel of 34 prints to each of the participating artists.

David also arranged an exhibit of the prints at the University in Kentucky. He’s already busy teaching and making art, so taking this project on was very generous. He’s a good man.

David Wischer took this photo of the tower of boxed print exchange portfolios headed out in the mail to all the printmakers who participated. It’s going to be a very exciting day when this parcel arrives! (Photo by David Wischer.)
Playing with the layout in a sketch notebook, and planning the drypoint.

Planning a Linocut and Drypoint Print Combination

There were no printmaking methods or theme restrictions for this exchange – but the paper had to measure 11×14. The title of the folio is Leave Quietly, which is a nod to the exit button on the Clubhouse app. While listening to a group conversation, the button you press to exit is labeled “leave quietly”.

I’ve been thinking about a series of still life and interior scenes, so I sketched rough ideas for this first print in pencil. Next, I used the camera on my phone to take reference photos with a plate and some edible props in my kitchen (see above).

If you’re looking for resources to inspire your next foray into a linocut still life project, have a look at this post assembled to help conjure ideas for linocut designs. All the supplies used to make this print are listed below.

Inscribing a drypoint on a sheet of plexiglass – shapes, and cross-hatching made with a stainless scribe
After inking and wiping the drypoint plate, and sending it through the press, and pulling a proof print.
A sheet of linoleum, sanded and cleaned, on top of a stack of freshly torn printmaking paper, ready to carve and print.
Mixing ink for the color palette I planned for the first impressions of this reduction linocut.
Linocut prints drying in the studio
Printing the drypoint on top of the color linocut
Preparing to label, number, and sign the edition (40).
Snacking Geometry 12×9 linocut and drypoint (a few extra prints are available in my Etsy shop)
The process for the still life print in this post is similar to this video; this is a demo of printing drypoint over a collagraph print. (The finished Drypoint and Collagraph Print is here.) The blog post about this Mermaid and Whale art is here.

Linocut and Drypoint Printmaking

Experiments in the studio can be a fountain of good things. You learn about the expanded potential of your tools and art supplies. You feed your creative curiosity when you experiment with new combinations. And your problem-solving skills get polished, exerted, and brought to bear.

I’ve mixed collagraph and drypoint in previous projects (see the video above), but this was the first mix of linocut and drypoint.

This project was so much fun that I’ve got four more reduction linocuts and drypoint prints in process. One figurative, one still life, and two interior scenes.

Stay tuned for those printmaking mashups in future posts (you can subscribe to this blog here). Have you ever mixed your printmaking before? If so, please leave a link to your adventures in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by to visit today, and I’ll see you in the next post –

Belinda

P.S. If you like printmaking, and you listen to podcasts, check out Cammy York and Edie Overturf’s podcast News Print. They cover printmaking news, resources, opportunities, and interviews with printmakers.

If you’re printing a drypoint on a press, here is a video demo to bevel the sharp, square edges off your plexiglass plate so you don’t slice through the blankets or your paper on the press.
Checking the Drypoint with sunshine: holding the plate in the sun to look at my mark-making in the shadows

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13 thoughts on “Reduction Linocut and Drypoint Print Mix”

  1. Zachar Laskewicz

    These are wonderful! What great inspiration!! I’ve followed the link on Instagram. I’m sharing the techniques I’m developing to combine embossing paper with printing by making modified silyl polymer moulds of engravings I make of recycled plastic products… and then after making a mould of the mould and making an embossing folder out of the two moulds, pressing paper using devices like a laundry wringer or a die-cut embosser. From the very beginning I’ve been adding ink to the folders. Now I’m inspired to combine them all with perspex dry point etching. The thought of using this material was almost too delicious to believe was possible. I love it! I included my facebook page where I’m collecting my early experiments with embossing below.

    I love these pages!

    Reply
    1. Belinda Del Pesco

      Hi Kathleen, Thanks for your visit, and the holiday wishes. Sending a secret handshake with a kaboom on the end for our shared love of art and inspiration. I hope the year ahead is chock full of creative adventure for you.

      Reply
  3. Jennifer

    I love seeing your work – you inspire me to work on printmaking – Maybe after Christmas?
    Thank you for your generosity in sharing.

    Reply
    1. Belinda Del Pesco

      Hi Jennifer, Thanks for the compliment, and for sharing your enthusiasm. I hope January is your very own printmaking month. Early mornings, late evenings, and weekends of inky fun.

      Reply
  4. Sam Trafford

    Thanks so much for sharing this! I didn’t know you could get a good drypoint impression over the top of a linocut, and I’m keen to give it a try. Did you then soak the paper containing the linocut image before taking the drypoint impression?

    Reply
    1. Belinda Del Pesco

      Hi Sam, Yes! You can absolutely mix the two printmaking methods, as long as your inks work nicely together. I didn’t soak the paper for either the intaglio or the relief prints on this project. I did use an atomizer to very lightly “spritz” and blot the paper – just before pulling each color of the linocut. Happy printmaking to you!

      Reply
      1. Elizabeth

        I like your perspectives, and the techniques make for attractive and intriguing pieces. It must be hard on the fingers I imagine.

        Reply
        1. Belinda Del Pesco

          Hi Elizabeth, Thanks for your compliments. The work (carving and engraving) is not hard on my fingers, yet. I imagine as I get older (I’m 62), that’s a possibility, but for now, it’s very pleasant and meditative. Have you ever tried to carve a block of linoleum?

          Reply

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