Psalms Visualized: Artistic Process

Artistic Process

My compositions are typically conceived and fully worked out in my mind before making their way to the woodblock. I think there’s a slow, meditative process in printmaking—from idea to carving to painting—that generally appeals to me and fits my temperament.

My process is, simply, to sketch out my ideas, transfer them backwards to a block of wood or other material, carve away the negative space, ink the surface, and then, after choosing a paper, hand-pull both through a 1930s antique proof press. I apply the various colors using multiple carved blocks or a “reduction block” method, where the same block is carved and printed multiple times, or through “hand tinting” with transparent pigments over oil-based inks.