These past few weeks have been… jarring.
And yet - there is something so peaceful and calm and restorative about painting these linocuts. This valley was full of cottongrass. The water was intensely blue-green. The path was obscure in places. And the stoic mountains watched over us.
We climbed up to the pass, over the sun-cupped snow. We camped among the sharp bits of shale, moving rocks to make a place to sit. The cool wind rumbled the fabric of the tent, as we drank a little bit of tea and watched the sun slip below the horizon.
For these hand-coloured linocuts, I carefully paint each one. It is very meditative. I paint the cooler blues and greens first. Adding the intense orange feels electric - the colour bursts off of the page. And isn’t that what it feels like to be there? When the last rays of sun strike the mountains and take your breath away?
Below: painted linocuts drying on the rack before the next colour is added.
Below: having added the final colours, this one is now ready to be signed and packaged! The background shows a test print. I decided the colour was not intense enough. I really wanted to push that warm-cool contrast so I made the grasses in shadow even cooler. In person these shimmer with life. I hope you like them!
