October, Roosevelt Park

Gordon Louis Mortensen

Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the Badlands of North Dakota was established in 1935 as a refuge and as a National Park in 1947 by Harry Truman. It is composed of three "Units" that cover 70,446 miles. Mortensen captures the color changes of early fall in this panoramic woodcut.

Gordon Mortensen commented on the color reduction process he uses: "Only one woodblock is used. On it an image is drawn in India ink. Before the first color is printed, any areas that are to remain unprinted (white or the color of the paper) are cut away from the surface of the block. Then an oil base ink is used to print the first color on all of the sheets of paper that are to be used for the edition and proofs.

After the first printing the block is again cut, removing any surface of the block that is to remain the first color in the finished print. After each subsequent color is printed, the block is cut, the process continues until the print is finished and most of the surface of the block is cut away."