HISTORY OF THE WHITE LINE WOODCUT
This method of color printmaking originated in Provincetown, MA in 1915, a year after a group of American artists living in Paris, responding to an impending war, packed their bags and headed to this artist’s colony at the tip of Cape Cod. The group was drawn together by friendship and mutual interest in the woodcut medium.
The white line woodcut combines all the colors on one block of wood, differing in this way from the Japanese method which called for carving one block of wood per color. The V-shaped cuts separate each element of the composition and, in printing, leave a white line that emphasizes the design. The method appears deceptively simple, requiring only a block of wood, a cutting knife, and a large spoon. The artist applies watercolor to small areas of the block and hand prints each section by rubbing the paper against the wood with the back of a spoon. While a block can be re-used to create another print, each print will always be unique due to the slow hands-on technique and the fickle nature of watercolor.
Shown: Hummingbird by Sally Brophy, represented by Kobalt Gallery, 366 Commercial St., Provincetown, MA 02657, 508-487-1132
This method of color printmaking originated in Provincetown, MA in 1915, a year after a group of American artists living in Paris, responding to an impending war, packed their bags and headed to this artist’s colony at the tip of Cape Cod. The group was drawn together by friendship and mutual interest in the woodcut medium.
The white line woodcut combines all the colors on one block of wood, differing in this way from the Japanese method which called for carving one block of wood per color. The V-shaped cuts separate each element of the composition and, in printing, leave a white line that emphasizes the design. The method appears deceptively simple, requiring only a block of wood, a cutting knife, and a large spoon. The artist applies watercolor to small areas of the block and hand prints each section by rubbing the paper against the wood with the back of a spoon. While a block can be re-used to create another print, each print will always be unique due to the slow hands-on technique and the fickle nature of watercolor.
Shown: Hummingbird by Sally Brophy, represented by Kobalt Gallery, 366 Commercial St., Provincetown, MA 02657, 508-487-1132
