Learn to create contemporary, unique works of art with traditional carving tools and printmaking techniques. Step-by-step projects and creative lino prints make it fun and easy. The Inspired Artist series invites art hobbyists and casual art enthusiasts to have fun learning basic art concepts, relaxing into the creative process to make art in a playful, contemporary style.
Aspiring artists, illustrators, art students, and art hobbyists will discover how to use basic carving tools and techniques to design and create custom lino prints for unique works of art. Practical instruction combined with approachable step-by-step projects and inspirational imagery guide readers on an engaging, easy-to-follow exploration of block printing. Beginning with an introduction to essential tools, such as printmaking inks, carving blocks, gouges, and papers, Block Print for Beginners demonstrates how to get from uncarved blocks to beautiful prints, covering everything including designing the print, best practices for carving, working with various inks, and how to achieve the best print results.
Once comfortable with the basics, aspiring printmakers can move on to explore a series of step-by-step tutorials for creating a variety of lino prints that they can use over and over again. From simple landscapes and nature motifs to everyday items and even portraits, Block Print for Beginners provides a fresh, contemporary, and enjoyable approach to learning this time-treasured art form.
Well illustrated and inspiring!
Block Print for Beginners is a clearly written and well-illustrated guide for those who are new to the printing arts or, like myself, are looking to renew their engagement with the medium.
Elise Young begins with an exploration of the various tools and materials which are used in lino printing, then covers (with illustrations) the basic techniques used to create and print from a block design. The remainder of the book consists of a series of consecutively more complex projects, leading the reader through many of the techniques used by print artists. Each project is explained in an accessible step-by-step manner with accompanying photographs.
The designs used through the book are relatively simple, and hence achievable by a beginner, but also really attractive, effective and inspiring for those who feel short of inspiration as they embark on a new artistic endeavour. An emerging block-printing artist could achieve an awful lot, working purely from the content of this single title and their own imagination. I believe Block Print for Beginners would also prove a valuable reference title for art schools and working artists to consult when refreshing their understanding of particular techniques.
Reading Block Print for Beginners has inspired me to dig out my tools and inks and revive my own endeavours in printing, which I've sadly neglected over recent years. I'd thoroughly recommend it to any reader interested in trying printing, and also to art teachers and working artists who are seeking to introduce printing techniques into their pieces.
Sarah, 06/06/2021
