Orient For Ever
In recent years I have moved from working in etching to woodcuts and linocuts. I use birch ply and sometimes, abandoned pieces of builder’s heavy duty plywood, taking advantage of the often scarred surface. I print with oil based inks and use a variety of gouges and cutting tools. I use Japanese papers which vary from rough to smooth (like Hosho); and burnish by hand using several wooden spoons including a broad bamboo Japanese rice-serving spoon. Sometimes I print on my etching press. This requires a heavier paper such as Somerset and gives a bolder result. Hand burnishing gives more subtlety.
