Music/print

Recently when engraving into box wood, I started thinking about the object that is engraved, the presence of the  piece of wood itself within the print, the object...this got me thinking about what could be used to engrave into, and how this could relate to the print itself.
I started printing with chopping boards, and then began looking at maple wood. When looking at maple wood I realised the most important object to me was made form maple wood. The violin. This got me thinking about connections between music making and printmaking, I began to see so many parallels, between the layers of music, composition, depth, pauses in a composition, movement, time...
I decided to try and find a source of violins to engrave into.

Experimenting with cut out

Cutting sections of the print away, using negative form to create depth...

Cutting away

Running on the same trail, using the idea of cutting away and pushing the boundary of the rectangle, I began the piece, where I used the lino in the same manner, taking inspiration from Irelands landscape, from cracks, aging, forms within forms, I cut the main image out, however I then tried to push the composition more and I cut away the face from the lino, then used both sections, the negative space creating a new element to the image.

Creating a shift

I decided that perhaps I could make the image graphically more interesting, I could make the eye shift, and distort the image slightly, using the knowledge I have gained in how to apply colour, I could create pieces that made the image dance, that made your eyes dart. These prints perhaps add a new element, an element of cutting away, abstracting and pushing the way one looks at a portrait print.

Being bold

Moving away from the rectangle......

Thinking about form and portraiture

Over the course of the last few months I have identified that the pieces of work that are most successful are those where I have used inner form within the boundary of a portrait, taking inspiration from Ireland the landscape, vein like structures, cracks in thought and time/age, I think the latest lino print I did has been the boldest and most striking. However taking on board the constructive criticism i have been given, it is true that I have limited myself to the boundary of the lino itself. Meaning that the work is always within the rectangle shape, I therefore decided to push this piece of work further and cut out the face, and experimented more with colour.