Woodcuts

Just occasionally I do a post on art. In Art I tried to describe what art is, in A Painting Blog I described a painting that I came across during my visit to Vicksburg, and in Lawton Arts Festival I gave a brief review of that festival.

A few days ago I came across a blog that has decided me to write of art again. Jim Larimer's blog, LarimerArt is the one I refer to and I urge you to have a look right now rather than continue reading my pompous pontificating. If you have any appreciation of art at all, you will love Jim's pictures.

Jim does work in oil paint as well but the examples he has on display in his blog so far are woodcuts. This is a very old art form and, in Europe, is linked to the invention of printing. It involves cutting a design into a block of wood, inking and then using it to produce pictures on paper, very much like the early printing methods. Although the initial design is drawn on paper in the usual way, this becomes a negative impression when transferred to the wood so that prints taken from the block are positive.

The resultant artwork is very distinctive and instantly recognizable as a woodcut. Because the artist is working with just two colors (usually black and white, the black of the ink and the white of the paper), the edges are hard and clear, areas of shadow very dark against the bright white where light falls. This can be softened by the skill of the artist in shading with fine lines.

More colors can be added by cutting blocks that imprint with another color. Of course, these have to be carefully calculated to fit with the shapes already applied. One begins to appreciate the skill and planning involved in such artwork. Jim has a few examples of these colored prints on display.

I have given this brief description of the processes involved to explain the characteristic look of the woodcut. Beyond that, I would like to point out that Jim's work has that indefinable something that makes great art stand out. His subjects are ordinary and uncomplicated, yet there is a beauty to the finished product that goes beyond the straightforward depiction of a scene. One of his commenters makes a statement that gives an insight into this: "The graceful arcing of the orchids juxtaposed with the craft itself which is hard and by nature rough".

It is impossible for me to say exactly what I see in Jim's woodcuts, however. We can talk of skill and technique until the cows come home, but this does not explain how I know his art is a cut above the rest (pardon the pun). It just is, that's all. Life and light pour from his pictures in a way that does not happen in the work of so many others. In the end, I can only suggest that you look for yourself; perhaps you will see it too.