This week I've taken a temporary break from making artist's books to work on a linocut. It's destined for a group exhibition in Granada, Spain. The theme is open, but there is a designated size, namely 18 x 18 cm. I find it challenging to work within a square framework, even though I've used that format frequently in recent years, most notably the Winged Women paintings and linocuts (2010) and Moth Women linocuts (2009). These, however, were images that naturally lent themselves to square formats.
For this project I wanted the linocut to be reflective of my current silhouette-based imagery. But I discovered that the silhouette pictures tend to work best as vertical compositions - particularly the extended vertical format of concertina books (see below).
Then I remembered the silhouette painting Flight Path, 2012, which was also made for an exhibition that dictated a square format. (See Blog Post December 5, 2012). This work became the basis for my linocut Flight. I've made substantial changes to the original composition.
The block for Flight in various stages of development is pictured above. The image was drawn onto the lino in India ink and white acrylic paint. The third image from the top shows the block ready to edition.
By way of contrast, to see the unique silhouette book A Tall Tale in progress (a detail is pictured above) visit Moth Woman Press HERE.