White Line Prints

White Line Printmaking was a form of printing off of wooden blocks that was invented in Provincetown, MA in the early 1900s. The process involves carving the outlines of a design into a wooden board using various chisels and gouges. Then a foam core block is attached to the top of the board and paper is taped to the foam core, forming a hinge. Ink is applied to each section of the wood block individually with a paintbrush, and after each application of ink, the paper is lowered onto the block and the ink is pressed into the paper using a barens or a wooden spoon. 

My process uses a wooden spoon and I make all my prints by hand using a water-based printing ink. I typically apply three coats of ink to each section of my block to get the color saturation that I prefer for my prints. Most of my prints are abstract but occasionally I will use subject matter that is more realism-based.