Linocut Workshops at Sea!

Ok, I’m all excited. I just discovered that I get to teach printmaking as well as watercolour on my upcoming journey! I mean, I like watercolour and enjoy teaching it, but printmaking is my jam. And people get so excited when they try it. There’s something about slicing into that material that is just so fulfilling. It feels to me like carving a ski into fresh packed snow. Then seeing the faces of people when they peel their first print off a block; they always look up in wonder. ‘I really did that?!?’ their faces say. One thing printmaking does for a not so experienced artist is it gives them strong values. Light is white, dark is black and punchy. Or blue, or red. There are no hesitant lines or brushstrokes. It’s just instant drama. I think we all go back to that moment in childhood when we first cut a potato in half in elementary school, carved a design into it, plunked it in poster paint and printed a star or a moon onto newsprint. It felt like magic then and it feels like magic now. I’m going to have fun rounding up materials and planning my class list. 

The gig is onboard the Azamara Onward. We embark from Florida on January 5th and sail all over the place. The promo says 40+ countries, 75+ destinations, or something like that. We do South America, French Polynesia, Australia and New Zealand, Southeast Asia, then over to India, Egypt, through the canal and finish up in Istanbul. The Onward is smaller than the big ships I usually teach on, which means more days in port, more excursions and adventures, and fewer days on the water. I teach only on sea days, and will literally have a boat full of potential budding artists looking for something to do. It’s such a great program. The art classes of course draw out the creative souls, my favourite peeps.

I’m looking forward to sharing this journey with you; the printmaking, the ports, the prep and the packing. It’s all part of the adventure. Thanks for reading. 

If you’re looking to start printmaking yourself, a kit like the one below is a good place to start. I’ll share a link to Akua printmaking inks as well. They’re my favourite.

Please note: if you purchase through these links you won’t pay any extra, but I may receive a commission from Amazon Affiliates Program.

And if you want to watch my tutorial on YouTube for creating linocuts with watercolour you'll find that here. Not seeing anything below? Try disabling your ad blocker.

Happy printmaking!

Here’s a quick timelapse of this sketch. Loved capturing the “speedball” pink. Linocut peeps know this colour at a glance.

Thanks so much for reading, and don’t forget to sign up for updates to follow along on the adventure!