Jess Linden White, aka Ink & Brayer creates her linocut prints in Tottenham, North London. She started linocutting over a year and a half ago, quickly becoming obsessed with this form of printmaking, loving how the hand-printing process means there are little variations that make each piece unique. Jess got back into printmaking while working as a graphic designer and remembered back to when she completed linocuts at school and college and decided to start making something with her hands again rather than digitally.
Over the years Jess had accumulated a lot of ideas for prints and thought that linocut would be the perfect medium to create them. She adored the finished effect lino gives and finds the carving process very cathartic and enjoys how it can be done at home in a small space without lots of dangerous chemicals.
“Living in London, I don’t have a lot of space and studio costs are too high for someone starting out, so I needed a process that could be done in a little corner of my flat. The great thing about linocut is that you can set up in a small space, make the prints and then clear it away fairly easily. Having said that, it is an obsession that is slowly taking over my flat.”
Much of Jess’ inspiration comes from the natural environment and is particularly inspired by botanical and animal subjects, but her work also features subjects from further afield into space, as science fiction is a particular fascination of her. She especially admires the aesthetic of vintage sci-fi and tries to capture that look in some of her space-based work. Jess’ process begins with drawing out an idea then working on the sketches to identify areas of light and dark or texture that will work well in a print, before carving the designs into blocks of lino. Sometimes she plans out the marks she’s going to make in the lino very precisely but most times she just plans the basics and then lets the drawing evolve organically as she carves with the gouges.
Jess is an official People of Print Member. If you would like to apply for membership click here.
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