My lino print

My symbol

A road sign used in countries where moose and reindeer are found, such as Scandinavia and Canada.
It is used to warn drivers to be careful on the road, as the animal could be near and could cause an accident if it walked out onto the road.



The lino

This is the image during the process of cutting into the lino.
I was careful enough to remember to cut the image reversed but it wouldn't have mattered either way.
I did cut myself a number of times during the process as I found it recklessly easier to cut towards the body rather than away. However, I do know that I shouldn't do this for health and safety reasons.
With a bit more practice I could really master lino printing, as it's one printing technique that I really enjoy.
I'd like to improve cutting straight lines. I noticed a few of my peers had beautiful prints with straight lines and was confused as to how they acheived it. I was using the lino cutting tool with a 0.2 blade. I needed the smallest size to cut out the smaller areas of my image.



Inking the lino

The first colour I chose was blue because, when printed on white paper, the colours would have resembled those on the Finnish flag (because Finland is a country where moose and reindeer inhabit).
Because the Finnish flag is white with a blue cross, I should have cut out the background of the lino instead of the image to achieve the blue outline ontop of the white paper.
I was glad I had cut into the lino deep enough so that the areas inside the image didn't become inked too.









The prints

This print was produced after three attempts on dry white cartridge paper.
I noticed how dampening a sheet of paper in water and pat-drying allowed the ink to bleed smoothly across and produce a clearer, sharper print than before.











To print only the inside of the triangle, I used masking tape to cover the areas I didn't want to ink.
I noticed how the edges are still quite fuzzy but I think this is due to the lino print itself not being cut out well enough.
The middle of the moose also has a smudge, so I'll be careful in future not to contaminate any of the paper with ink from my hands or any equipment used.












This print was produced using burgundy and yellow inks together. I didn't want the yellow to be predominant so I just used patches of it throughout the background. It gives a rusty effect.
I think if I were to use two or more colours again I'd use one for the background and one for inside the triangle, but time was a factor.
Also, I'd definitely cut the background out of the lino instead if I were to do this image again.