Relief Printing: a printmaking method in which the artist removes material from the surface of a printing block via carving. Tools are utilized to gouge away the block material, and the remaining, un-carved surface of the printing block is inked while the recessed areas remain ink free. Common printing surfaces include wood and linoleum.
Relief printing is a negative line-making process, meaning the lines the artist makes in the printing surface create negative, empty space in the image. It is the direct opposite of Intaglio and other positive line processes.
Here are brief explanations of a few processes that I use in my relief work:
Multiblock – a multicolor print that uses multiple blocks, carved and printed in different colors in succession to create the final image
Reduction – a multicolor print from a single block, carved in stages. To create the next layer/color, parts of the preceding layer are removed, thus gradually reducing the block/surface down.
Chine-collé – technique in which paper of a different color or texture is adhered to a heavier paper.
Below is a gallery of images from my relief portfolio.
