For some time I have been thinking about how to Lino cut a tree. Beautiful as they are, the question arises as to how much detail is needed, which in turn leads to how big the print needs to be.
I did this as a test, the Lino sheet being about 2/3 log a standard page, thinking that as I did not mask the frame I could remove it digitally. With my limited tools this was harder than I thought. I should have maker during printing, though as this was a test I was really just looking at the tree shape.
The thing with trees is that a sufficient thickness of leaves effectively reduces the image to a silhouette when carving, yet that is not what the eye sees (except at sunset).
This Is especially true with gum trees, whose spidery limbs hold their leaves at fire distance from the main trunk. Very elegant but a challenge to carve.
While I wasn’t happy with this cutting, I wasn’t unhappy either. A step in the right direction.