Block Printmaker Farquharson

        Let’s take a break from the first half of the twentieth century and visit the contemporary work of Linda M Farquharson (UK, 1963-).  These are linoleum block prints, with all the flat, smooth control  linoleum makes possible.  Farquharson does lots of flowers, birds, and animals, which I enjoy very much.  She also does both black and white and color designs, and I find her color choices very rich and beautiful.

        I especially like this tree of life, a symbol that’s always been meaningful for me.  I like the contrast between the very simple, stylized design of the tree, and all the exuberant details.  Notice the variety of leaves and fruits and flowers: grapes, acorns, lemons, peas, strawberries, pomegranates…  The birds, on the other hand, are all much more similar.  I like how the background space within the tree is filled with an even speckled pattern.

        And here’s a wonderfully vibrant color print.  It’s a reduction print, so it’s interesting to try to figure out Farquharson’s different levels of carving and ink.  Or on the other hand, if you’re not a printmaker yourself, don’t try to figure it out, just sit back and enjoy it.

        And here are some more printmakers for the letter F:

Faiers, Ted

Feininger, Lyonel

Fisher, Leonard Everett

Frampton, David

Frasconi, Antonio

[Pictures: Tree of Life, linocut print by Linda M Farquharson;

Flower Power, reduction linocut print by Farquharson (Images from Linocut.co).]

A-Z Challenge, all posts for the letter F