Yosemite Valley Linocut Print

I have been working on carving the relief for this print for the last couple of weeks. Fits and starts at first, but this last week I have really gotten into the challenge of it. Yesterday I spent the better part of 8 hours adding to the 10 hours previously committed. Today, I carved in the sky and pulled my first proofs. This is my most ambitious work to date, and the challenge has been rewarded with what I think is beautiful piece. I want to tell you the story of it.

It started with my love for Yosemite National Park, and this August, I took my mother there so she could see it for the first time. I had a borrowed a good friend's camera, with a wide angle lens, and was able to capture this shot of Yosemite Valley one morning. I knew the second I saw it captured on the display that this was going to turn into something. I started preparing it for a relief print this November, after seeing a selection of linocut prints by Rik Olson, an incredible printmaker up in Sebastapol, CA. His style is so refined, so beautiful. I found it inspiring.

My first step to create a relief print is to convert the image to greyscale in Photoshop, then flop it horizontally. This gives me an idea of what I have to carve on the plate. Then I crop my photo to size, then print it in sections, if necessary. I have been doing a lot of relief prints that measure 10" x 20" lately, so I prepared this one for that size, too.

The next step is to make what I call a cartoon. For the cartoon, I trace the objects in my photo that I want to be included in my relief print. Once I have the contours, I can work out the beginnings of the lights and darks using a Sharpie. And once this step is completed, I take a piece of artist-grade linoleum and cover it with Saral transfer paper. I then place the cartoon on the transfer paper, then retrace my cartoon. This process transfers my design onto the linoleum, which I can then begin to carve.

The first few cuts are the most tentative. As the carving continues, I notice I get much more confident. I teach classes on how to do this, and I always tell my students to 1) Trust the process and 2) Resist Perfection. I also pepper this with saying that it is difficult to spend so much time on something and not have a decent result. So I tell myself the same thing.

Yep, I spent about 20 hours carving this one out. About half of a typical work week. This is what I do for a living now, after all.

It is absolute magic when ink is applied for the first time. All the effort is made manifest, and it is super exciting. I always use Daniel Smith Ink, Traditional Black Relief #79 to be precise. Here is a detail of the first inking:

Next, I lay the inked plate on my Conrad Machine etching press. I could not be a printmaker without this incredible tool, which I have been using some version of since I pulled my first print when I was 18. For relief prints, the uniform blacks that are achieved with a press like this are just amazing. Conrad Machines are manufactured just down the road from where I grew up in Whitehall, Michigan. Last time I was back in my hometown, I was able to stop in for a visit. I blogged about it here.

Yep, I am really happy with the result. Here is the print again, followed by a detail:

Yosemite Valley is available for sale on the 3 Fish Studios website for $60.00. If you like it, I hope you will consider adding it to your collection. And 10% of each sale will be donated to the Yosemite Fund, to help ensure such inspiring natural beauty is preserved for generations.