William Hays: Print Master of Wintry Scenes

 

 

 

My search was on to find an artist whose works, or some portion, portrayed winter and the holidays in a classic manner. I had almost given up when I discovered William Hays (1956-)

 

 

Hays was already mastering oil and water color painting by the age of 15. About 2007, he began teaching himself linocut and woodcut printing. He enjoyed printing so much that he moved away from painting to exclusively creating in print.

In spite of the technical challenges and limitations of printing, he comments that he has,"made it part of my vocabulary over time." Hays appreciates the meditative time that creating print blocks provides. (I thought the same when I was carving wood blocks for a print class.)

 

His inspiration for his works is found in the outdoors. For this blog, I've chosen some of his prints of winter - something he knows very well having lived in Alaska and now making his home in Vermont. However, his prints are so beautiful that I know there'll be a future blog about the other seasons he's captured. 

Hays is definitely a print master, who is deservedly recognized nationwide. 

Rachel Newling: Linocuts of Aussie Birds & Flora

 Until I took a few classes in art printing, I didn't realize how much more involved it is than painting. Now, I have an understanding and appreciation for those artists who have mastered the processes. Such an artist is Rachel Newling (1956-). 

 

 

Newling was born and studied art in the UK. It was while visiting Australia, that she decided to move to Sydney. It was a fortuitous decision because she finds endless inspiration in the birds and flora of her chosen home. 

 

 

Her linocut technique is to draw on the board and carve the design much the same way as in woodcuts. Printing is a matter of placing handmade Washi paper over the inked linocut, and by using a baren, she carefully rubs the design onto the paper. Printing in this manner is more time consuming and tedious, but the results can be more satisfying than running through a mechanical printing press.

 

 Once the print is removed and dry, she hand colors each one in the series run using archival gouache paints. Hence, each has a slight variation in coloration.

 

Newling's art is in the collections of museums, galleries and private owners. (BTW she has a wonderful explanation with photos of her technique on her website:  https://www.rachelnewling.com/about  )