Relief Prints - Woodcut A woodcut is, not surprisingly, a relief print where the block being carved is a piece of wood. Artists making woodcuts have many choices to make concerning which wood they will use, as different types of wood will print in different ways. For instance, when Edvard Munch made his woodcuts, he chose a wood with a very pronounced grain, which became part of the imagery of the print. Wood can be treated so that the grain becomes a highly raised surface, a relief surface ready to print before it has even been carved! Some printmakers prefer wood with a much more anonymous surface, where only the gouge produces the image. The resistance of the wood to being cut adds to the image - in many woodcuts you get an active sense of the artist fighting the hard wood, tearing the image from the plank. If this sounds interesting to you, you should check out the rich prints of many of the German Expressionist printmakers, such as Erich Heckel, Emil Nolde, and Max Pechstein.
Here's an impressive large woodcut by a contemporary artist, Myrna Yoder
Myrna Yoder, "Marselle", woodcut, 27" x 38"
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