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Where nature meets art
Woodcuts are a marriage of natural pattern and artistic inspiration.
This is the oldest printmaking process, in which a block of wood is cut
with special knives and gouges. Depending on the hardness and grain of
the wood and whether the artist chooses to go with the natural flow and
pattern of the wood, a woodcut may have organic, fluid lines or jagged,
rough patterns. To make a line in a woodcut, an artist cuts away the
wood on either side of it, leaving a thin ridge of wood to hold the
ink. These ridges are vulnerable to the pressure of printing, and
woodcuts often break down after a small edition is made.
Going against the grain
Woodcuts are distinguished by their subtle woodgrain textures and stark
contrasts between light and dark. Unlike engraving and etching, where
the printer's ink lies in those areas which have been carved or
etched, a woodcut takes the ink on those areas that have been left
untouched. The ink lies on the smooth, uncut surface of the block, and
prints onto paper in smooth, unbroken passages of color separated by
exposed areas of white paper. If engravers think in terms of line and
etchers in terms of texture, woodcut artists think in terms of planes
of color and contrasts between dark and light.
Consider these woodcuts available from NextMonet. Click on any image to
learn more about the individual artwork.
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| Masami Teraoka |
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Roger Herman |
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Francesco Clemente |
Select any of the printmaking techniques listed here in order of
historical development to learn more about it:
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