Green Mountains

This is a reduction lino-cut block print of a series of mountain ranges.

In a reduction lino-cut block print, each color involves its own printing process. Prints are typically printed from lighter colors to darker colors. To do this print. A light blue was rolled on to the plate, and printed. So the "pull" was just a rectangle of light blue. Next, the sky was cut from the linoleum, and a slightly darker blue was rolled on the linoleum. Since the sky was cut-away, it's nolonger inked. After the second pull, the print has the furthest mountain range and the sky. This process is repeated, cutting away, and applying the next color. This image has 7 colors, so 7 pulls were required to produce one print.

Unlike a regular block print, that can be printed any number of times. The number of prints for a reduction cut is limited to the number in the first pull, since the plate is slowly destroyed with each new color/cut. Along the way they are registration mistakes, where the image doesn't line up correctly, or not enough ink was applied. So you need to plan on a certain number mistakes along the way. For a series to have 20 final prints, you may need to start with 25 to 30 initial pulls.