Society of Wood Engravers 86th Annual Exhibition 2024

Bankside Gallery, London 6 - 25th February 2024

Cheesy grin please

 'Cut Loose' process

I have had lots of practice hand printing this image in a variety of colour combinations, and the design continues to evolve. Jo Morley of Omega Printmakers Portsmouth had suggested I needed some texture in the original design so I ended up cutting three blocks of lino. The swirling pattern whilst looking like wall paper is intended to represent a ‘blustery’ atmosphere, I’ve always admired Leonardo Da Vinci’s waterfall drawing and its influence is evident. Whilst cutting these blocks I never know how much ‘chatter’ to remove, as they provide printed evidence of the handmade process and can suggest movement if going in the right direction.

‘Cut Loose’ linocut print, image size 21 x 15cm, edition of 30, Mark Howard Jones 2023