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Tom Davidson


Tom Davidson is a print maker located in Earlston. I looked up his web sight and gathered some information about him from it. ( http://www.tomdavidson.co.uk/ )

He graduated in Graphic Design in 1977 but turned to printmaking in 1984.

He works with Lino cuts and works from a single block of linoleum, using a reduction process, printing each colour on top of the previous colour, working from light to dark.

Once i started looking through his prints, i couldn't believe they were lino cuts! they were so beautiful and photographically correct. The detail was beyond what i thought you could do with a lino cut.


I decided to look up the process of this for use later on in my printmaking unit...

From what i could find out if i was wanting to do a lino cut with three colours, say i wanted the background white, like the colour of the paper i was printing on, i would carve away all the areas that i would want to remain white, then i would ink the lino with the first colour, the lightest colour, i would do a few of these incase i made mistakes later down the line, obviously because i couldn't go back unless i started again.

I then would clean my lino and carve away all the areas that i would want to STAY MY FIRST COLOUR. i would then ink up my lino with the other colour, and print over my first print.

Then for my last colour i would carve away all the areas i wanted to remain my second colour, and ink up with the final colour. INTERESTING

Now i think about it on the scale on Tom Davidson... and my mind is blown. i will give it a go in a simple form in college and see how i get on but i cannot imagine the time and skill that goes into these prints. When you look at the detail, the lights and shadows, its insane!

When i have done lino prints before, i have a bad habit of not cutting the lino even, and it has these little ridges on the lino when i ink up, but i notice in these prints, if you intend to do that it can work very well as i saw in this print on the grass.


Overall i think these prints are stunning! i cant wait to give it a go on thursday for myself, i really enjoy lino cuts, i like the thought i put into it, the process and the anticipation waiting to see the print comes out. So far it is very enjoyable!

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