My prints always begin as a drawing, either drawn directly on location or working from a photograph.
I draw on translucent vellum so that when completed, I can flip it over and transfer it to the wood or linoleum block using carbon paper. At this point, the image is upside down, and will be carved that way so that the resulting print is again right side up the way I made the drawing.
Next step is to carve away the wood or linoleum, leaving the areas I want to print, this is called relief printing. When the carving is done, I roll ink onto the block with a rubber brayer. Then paper is layed on the wet ink, and burnished with a spoon or other burnishing tool until the ink is transferred to the paper. Final step is to pull the paper off the block and see what I have done -unlike a painting that evolves before your eyes, the final result is unknown until the 1st print is pulled. The anticipation can be pretty exciting!
