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Inspiration from Artists Wk 145 Featuring Artists :Michael Taylor and Gordon Mortenson

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Hang on Studio Wall
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Lewis Cooper

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My last batch for this artist. Thanks for having a look.
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Carol .

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A great find, Lewis thanks introducing and sharing the work of this wonderful artist.

Jenny Harris

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GORDON MORTENSEN, born 1938 in Utah, is one of the best known reduction woodcut print artists in the US.  He received a BFA degree with honours at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and was enrolled in the graduate programme at the University of Minnesota between 1969 and 1972. Originally a keen abstract painter, he almost entirely abandoned that medium to pursue a more profitable career in design, and subsequently reduction woodcutting.  He has described his working process as follows. “Only one woodblock is used and on it an image is drawn in Indian ink.  Before the first colour is printed, any areas that are to remain unprinted are cut away from the surface of the block.  Then an oil based ink is used to print the first colour on all the sheets of paper to be used for the edition and proofs.  After the first printing the block is again cut, removing areas that will remain the first colour in the finished print.  After each subsequent colour is printed, the block is again cut and the process continues until the print is finished.” His earlier works have fewer colours and are smaller, but his later woodcuts frequently have from 23 to 47 colours and can be as large as 40” x 30”, taking as much as a month to complete the edition.  His choice of paper for printing is Japanese Mulberry.

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by Jenny Harris

With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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Staggering, isn't it?  One of those skills I wish I'd learned when much younger, but I think it's a bit late for me now.  The depth and quality of the colour is as amazing as the sculptural quality of the forms and accuracy of the drawing and composition. Imagine having a wall of these in your humble apartment - you'd never be bored, there'd always be something to look at, and depression would surely be lifted by those colours and vistas.  Tonal contrast, which we always stress, is very important to this artist - I find his work inspiring. 
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Lewis Cooper

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Absolutely stunning...and that process of working on the same block as the colours are added!!  Mind-blowingly skillful.  Up to 47 colours, clearly a great craftsman and artist.

Norrette Moore

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I thought they were paintings...  I'm not usually a fan of woodblock prints.
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Tony Auffret

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An extraordinary and laborious process that leaves no room for error.   But it does give outstanding results.
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Paul (Dixie) Dean

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Amazing skill and the results are outstanding. Thank you Jenny for brining him to our attention , I still trying to get my head around all the work that he does for one print let alone all the rest add. 
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Russell Edwards

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I never thought it possible to produce work like this using this method, as Lewis says,'mind blowing!'

Christine Rogan

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Jenny- what a find! I thought these were paintings too as Norrette did. What skill, and patience, he must have to produce such beautiful images. 
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Linda Wilson

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Both artists this week are amazingly good in my view.  Absolute stunning!
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Lewis Cooper

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A few I like.   I read that it takes about 3 months for the artist to create these large woodblocks.  What a process.  Start carving the block, print however many prints in the print run, carve a bit more for the next colour, repeat the prints and just keep doing it for however many colours he's using.  As someone pointed out....very little room for error.
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