This is a lino block print that I carved in the 2001. This ornate block took me more than 3 weeks to complete. We printed it onto a black cotton twill for JJ Schoeman in a metallic charcoal ink for an evening gown. Later we printed it in olive green on green leather for BFine. It was used to upholster these beautiful chairs for suites at the Montecasino Hotel.
The original block was carved on old-fashioned linoleum tile. It is made from a linseed oil base. It is better to use oil based inks with such blocks so that the oil can continue to feed the base material and stop it from drying out and becoming brittle.
We did not think about this when we printed this block using water based inks. A year later, when BFine wanted to re-order this print, the block had become so brittle that we could no longer use it.
I am going to frame it one day as a reminder to think things through carefully in future.
Have a great day in full colour!
Kind regards
Melanie
0835689150
