Point Lobos by Gordon Louis Mortensen

Point Lobos by Gordon Louis Mortensen

Point Lobos

Gordon Louis Mortensen

Title

Point Lobos

 
Artist
Year
1986  
Technique
reduction color woodcut, printed in 32 colors with 25 press runs 
Image Size
15 1/8 x 20" image 
Signature
pencil, lower right 
Edition Size
126 of 150  
Annotations
pencil dated, titled, and editioned 
Reference
 
Paper
ivory Torinoko wove 
State
published 
Publisher
artist 
Inventory ID
GOMO346 
Price
SOLD
Description

To create this color reduction woodcut, "Point Lobos", Mortensen used 25 press runs to print the 32 colors. Point Lobos is located in Monterey, California just south of Carmel-by-the-Sea, at the north end of the Big Sur coast of the Pacific Ocean. A California State Park it attracts over one million visitors each year.

Gordon Mortensen commented on the 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."