Linoleum Cut: Strategy and Technique

Aug 16, 2015 by Petroglyphe

Nicholas Collins Teaches 2-Day Workshop at Petroglyphe Gallery

Saturday and Sunday, September 12 & 13, 9 am – 4 pm

Very similar to woodcuts, Linoleum Cut is a printing method using a sheet of linoleum. It is a subtractive cutting method — taking away the parts of linoleum where you want to leave the white of the page, and keeping the parts you want to be inked! The result yields a linocut that can reproduce the same image over and over again. While linoleum was first invented in the 1860s, it wasn’t used as a medium for printing until the early 1900s in Germany, where it was first used for making patterns on wallpaper! Artists ranging from Pablo Picasso to Henri Matisse have made linocuts, and today it is considered a respected art form. Linocuts are also very popular in teaching children in schools about the rewarding art of printmaking.

From raw, brutal expressionism to delicate, highly detailed rendering, the linocut is truly an exciting and vital medium. We will explore examples of linocut prints from Matisse to artistic movements in Russia, Germany, Britain and Mexico. We will discuss approaches to layout and design to give you the freedom to best express your images. You can focus your approach on directly transferred images or steer away from the drawing with a more sculptural “cut & proof” repetition technique. You will develop confidence with cutting tools and learn hand printing techniques. This is an excellent, inexpensive and non-toxic art form to take with you to your home studio.

Instructor, Nicholas Collins studied sculpture at UCSB, and printmaking at College of the Redwoods. He trained in etching and linocut at KALA in Berkeley where he was an artist in residence for two years. His work can be seen at Northcoast Artists Gallery in Fort Bragg, Prentice Gallery in Mendocino and Collector Art Shop in Berkeley.

This workshop is offered indoors at Quarry Hill Studio in Petroglyphe Gallery. The studio holds the resonance of a diversely creative world offered by seasoned artists sharing their process with blossoming students. All supplies are provided by the instructor and included in the registration and materials fee.

Check out these exciting fall art workshops at Petroglyphe. Sign up early to ensure your spot . . .

Encaustic Painting, Basics and Beyond with Suzanne Bell • Saturday, October 3, 10 am – 3 pm

Encaustic Painting, Texture and Collage with Suzanne Bell • Sunday, October 4, 10 am – 3 pm

Building Clay Canvases and Glaze Painting with James Aarons • Saturdays, October 17 & 31, 10 am – 4 pm

Palette Knife Painting in Oil with Erin Dertner • Saturday & Sunday, October 24 & 25, 9 am – 4 pm

Paint the Sierra with Dale Laitinen • Friday, Saturday & Sunday, November, 13-15, 9 am – 4 pm

Register online at www.gallerypetrolgyphe.com, drop by the gallery or give us a call at 209-286-1387. Petroglyphe offers fine art, jewelry, sculpture, pottery, art glass, cards, prints, Native American flutes and more. Signature gift wrapping is always free. The gallery is located at 8317 Main Street, Mokelumne Hill, CA 95245. Regular gallery hours are Thursday – Saturday 11:30 am – 5:30 pm and Sunday 11:30 – 4:00 pm.