How do you come up with your ideas?

Most of my images are taken from personal experiences and my interpretation of the way we respond to others and the environment. Sometimes it is as simple as asking myself “How would I successfully illustrate the feeling of loneliness, or freedom?”

Why did you choose Linocut?

I’ve experimented with a lot of different art forms like oils, acrylics, pastel, etc. But printmaking seemed like a natural fit for the work I do. I love the idea of designing with just black and white - no middle tones. Linocut has a very powerful presence that compliments the style of artwork that I do. Even though my work is smaller in scale when compared to what some other artists are doing, I’ve been told many times that the strength of the medium pulled them in to take a closer look.

Is the process very time consuming?

It is, although printmaking feels more natural to me than the other mediums that I’ve worked with, so the entire process seems to flow very easily.

Artwork shouldn’t be an effort. It should flow out of you just as easily as speaking.
The stage that takes the most time is when there are figures involved. When I’m trying to create a certain feeling or response to my work, the body language of the figures are very important. Something as simple as how a hand is placed, or how a persons head is tilted can make a dramatic difference in how the body language is interpreted, so there is a lot of thought beforehand about that.

What if you make a mistake?

Linocut is not a forgiving medium. I make a lot of mistakes, if that is what I should call them. I have the finished image in my mind so when I start a project my guides that I draw are very, very basic. To plan every cut would make the process very tedious and boring. The image is always in a state of change. Sometimes I cut where I shouldn’t have, and then I may have to change my concept a little bit. Most of the time when that happens the print turns out better than what I originally planned.

How come all of your prints do not have color added?

Some of the images are kept just black and white because I feel that the subject is better portrayed that way. When color is added the image seems to soften a little. Some subjects just need that “edge” of black and white. What is even more dramatic is when there is just a portion of the piece in color. Color can really help guide the eye to areas of importance.
I still really like the contrast of just black and white.

I don’t really know very much about art.

You don’t have to. There isn’t really one good answer when you look at something. Everyone takes an image and relates it to their own experiences.