Helen Brooks is a print artist based in Hertfordshire. Her prints are handmade, original pieces of art.
Linocut is a relief printmaking method: the image is printed from the raised surface of the lino tile. The ink is transferred to the paper by means of a printing press not unlike the first printing press designed by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440!
Some prints are one-offs, described as an Artist's Proof. Others are part of an edition in which a limited number of prints is made from the lino tile. Each print from an edition is a little bit different, as each is individually inked and printed.
I transfer my drawing onto the lino then cut away whatever I don't want to print. Sometimes I treat areas of the tile with caustic soda solution which erodes the surface leaving a grainy texture e.g. the background of the owl, above. Next, the tile is inked with a roller. I place it in the press with the paper on top, and take the print.
Some prints are made in layers from several lino tiles, such as 'Peacock' in the Bird Gallery. 'Torso' in the Human Body Gallery was made with sixteen tiles printed simultaneously.
I also use chine collé, where a piece of tissue is hand-coloured with acrylic ink then bonded to the paper in the press, underneath the ink of the print. It recreates the delicacy and translucence of a butterfly's wing.