Linocut Letters

Typefaces and letters mean different things to different people, everyone has an opinion and a favourite letter. It could be the initial of their name, a loved one’s name or a memory from a special place, the signage of their favourite shop, restaurant or a street art letter painted on a wall. Letters have a huge influence on us everyday whether we consciously recognise it or not. Every letter has a place, been thought about and carefully considered - well you’d hope so.

With this love of letters and letterforms, they were the perfect vehicle and starting point for the linocut odyssey. This epic journey took over two years (twenty six months exactly) to complete, taking various detours, dead ends and stabbed thumbs whilst trying to learn the fine art of linocut. 

Not content on just carving for the sake of it, each letter has an idea or theme to add interest to each of the characters. Each letter is unique, employing different techniques and typographic styles - the only consistency is they are carved on an A5 (148mmx210mm or ‘half-letter’) traditional grey linoleum block. Having tried vinyl and latex blocks, there’s just something about the feel, colour and smell of the original grey linoleum that does it for me.

The journey from A to Z has been a great exercise of how far I have come.