You're so spot on about competent amateurs claiming expert status. I've been carving for about 4 years now and I know I still have so far to go to become more than 'competent'. You even note that you're still learning - The wise man knows he knows nothing, the fool thinks he knows all.
Loved what you said…” use the best materials that you can, Prove yourself as professionally as you can, why is your time any less valuable just because you are not doing it professionally” . Your work is Outstanding…I just started learning about this beautiful craft and people like you are inspiring! Thank you
I very much enjoy your work. As an American man working in relief engraving, lino and letterpress printing for the better part of 10 years, I find your comment dismissing tutorial videos that feature Speedball brayers quite arrogant. No disrespect to you as an artist, but you are cutting lines out of commercial grade flooring to make fine art and then suggesting that artists should only use the best materials available to them. It is important that your viewers know about the different types of linoleum or end-grain woods, as they truly make a difference in the cutting process and the final print, And you do a fantastic job of this. I just think it is a cheap jab to dismiss someone's ability based on a thumbnail photo of a brayer. Personally, during the proofing process as I am working on an engraving, one of those little red plastic rollers comes in quite handy from tine to time. Again, I think you print work is stunning and I mean no disrespect. In the end, it's the print that speaks the message and shows the artist skill. Cheers.
No offence taken Eric. I am referring to instant "experts" I expect you know the type. I'm at pains to emphasise how ignorant I am after 40 years printmaking. As for red-handled tools and rollers, I thought long and hard about making what seems such an arrogant remark. I remember the moment my attitude changed though. I was teaching at Ochre print studio and one particular student who had conspicuous ability and quite a few years experience was using red handled gouges and I handed her a 12/1 Pfeil v gouge and the transformation was damascene. So, yes, I do stand by the remarks and believe that professional equipment yields a far superior result, which leads people to take what they are doing seriously, animates them and so their work improves. I suppose it's the ethos of the studio Black Pig, everybody working together, professional practice is picked-up without even being thought about. Norman Ackroyd once said to me "If you get yoir practice right, you've eliminated eighty percent of tne opposition." The thing is with Marmoleum is that it's better than the grey linoleum manufactured specifically for linocut, which has a higher linseed oil content to make it easier to cut but crumblier as a result. So flooring grade is better.
Beautiful work! I'm a builder who's enjoyed installing marmoleum in a number of bathrooms, including my own. I love working with the material as a builder, and would like to start lino printing, and wondered if it might be suitable, thank you for answering my question. Remnants can be gotten quite inexpensively from flooring stores. I had to chuckle though, after scolding people, you went on to (erroneously) surmise that marmoleum contains marble dust, which it doesn't. I thought, "There's nothing wrong with being an amateur and not knowing, but why are you putting your guesses out in an instructional video, without researching the product you're endorsing?" I understand, it's an irrelevant matter, but the contradiction of principle was amusing to me. I certainly understand the importance of quality tools! Thank you for sharing your skill and humility, they're both inspiring.
Thank you for your feedback Jacob. As for the marmoleum aside, I can't remember but I think I said in the video that I was entirely basing that on the fact that Spanish for marble is marmol. I talk a lot of nonsense as do many other pundits, I think you just have to take what you can get from these things. I'm also far too lazy and distracted to research things properly.
@@pandorareilly4607 Yes, you were very clear that that was a guess, and a reasonable one. Good thing it doesn't have marble dust, otherwise you'd probably spend more time sharpening your tools than cutting! I quite enjoy hearing the random thoughts of skilled craftsmen, I just couldn't resist noticing what seemed to me a contradiction. Cheers
@Jacob MacLeod Hi Jacob, it does contain finely ground limestone though, as per this nice short how it's made video. ua-cam.com/video/xFVBPKJFxxM/v-deo.html . I can imagine it will dull tools quicker than some materials, but with the surface coating removed might make a versatile strop. I am looking forward to getting some remnants to try.
I bought the red handled roller and linocut tools recently. My reason was I had not tried engraving since high school and wanted to give it a go. I had some immediate success and really enjoyed it, and now will not mind spending more on better stuff as I hit limitations with the cheap tools I have. So I think just for a wekend play project the cheap tools or great for most hobbies/professions but yeah much past that and the value of the good stuff becomes useful fast.
Dear Mr. Pig, Thank you for the beautiful, instructional and fun videos! I'd so love to come to some of your workshops but Frome isn't exactly close (albeit not so far... perhaps I'll come one day, who knows!) I have one question about the Van Son rubber-based ink: how do you clean the lino plates, rollers etc? Does it need solvent? I'm so tempted to get some but if it needs cleaning up with white spirit or such I'll have to organise a cleaning station outside ... Thank you!
Well I've only been using it for a few years so I don't know. Cuttiing lino, the grey stuff gets unusably brittle after about ten years, so I would imagine that marmoleum fares better.
This is a new comment on an old video-wondering if you have a preference between the 2.0 mm thick sheet Marmoleum, or the slightly thicker (2.5 mm) tile, or the very thick (9.8 mm) click flooring?
Hello there Chris Pig! I'm Chris Simons, a printmaker from Sacramento, California. I'm still a student studying at college/university, and this weekend I went to a local flooring store and bought some Marmoleum. It's great! I sanded all the samples and it smells great. But California has recently banned all mythelated spirits, so I couldn't find any at the hardware store today. I do have 91% Rubbing Alcohol though! Would that work just as well? What does the alcohol do?
Hello Chris. That's funny because oir government won't let us have rubbing alcohol. I thinkmthey think we'll drink that instead of wine and beer etc. Rubbing alcohol is even better, it's to degrease the block makimg it more receptive to transfer with graphite. Hope that helps!
Nope. If your tools are sharp you should never need to soften the matrix. I'm old enough to have been taught by tutors who would recommend putting battleship lino on the radiator if it was a little stiff. If you heat lino or marmoleum it turns to unusable mush.I used to sometimes put battleship lino in the freezer to make it more responsive but marmoleum is just right, once abraded
Mr. Pig, I have recently started investigating the use of Marmoleum as a linocut material. Concerning the surface sanding preparation I was wondering how much sanding was necessary. Are you trying to remove the high textural points of the material in order to have a smooth surface or are you only removing a surface film that would prevent ink from adhering well to the material? Thank you.
@norman39110 This how it's made video, only 4 minutes long, shows that it has a double layer surface coating, maybe this has to be removed for best ink adhesion. The addition of ground limestone might cause it to dull tools quicker than other material. ua-cam.com/video/xFVBPKJFxxM/v-deo.html
The reason why he never made another video is because he got so hypnotized he has never stopped cutting.
You're so spot on about competent amateurs claiming expert status. I've been carving for about 4 years now and I know I still have so far to go to become more than 'competent'. You even note that you're still learning - The wise man knows he knows nothing, the fool thinks he knows all.
Loved what you said…” use the best materials that you can, Prove yourself as professionally as you can, why is your time any less valuable just because you are not doing it professionally” . Your work is Outstanding…I just started learning about this beautiful craft and people like you are inspiring! Thank you
I very much enjoy your work. As an American man working in relief engraving, lino and letterpress printing for the better part of 10 years, I find your comment dismissing tutorial videos that feature Speedball brayers quite arrogant. No disrespect to you as an artist, but you are cutting lines out of commercial grade flooring to make fine art and then suggesting that artists should only use the best materials available to them. It is important that your viewers know about the different types of linoleum or end-grain woods, as they truly make a difference in the cutting process and the final print, And you do a fantastic job of this. I just think it is a cheap jab to dismiss someone's ability based on a thumbnail photo of a brayer. Personally, during the proofing process as I am working on an engraving, one of those little red plastic rollers comes in quite handy from tine to time. Again, I think you print work is stunning and I mean no disrespect. In the end, it's the print that speaks the message and shows the artist skill. Cheers.
No offence taken Eric. I am referring to instant "experts" I expect you know the type. I'm at pains to emphasise how ignorant I am after 40 years printmaking. As for red-handled tools and rollers, I thought long and hard about making what seems such an arrogant remark. I remember the moment my attitude changed though. I was teaching at Ochre print studio and one particular student who had conspicuous ability and quite a few years experience was using red handled gouges and I handed her a 12/1 Pfeil v gouge and the transformation was damascene. So, yes, I do stand by the remarks and believe that professional equipment yields a far superior result, which leads people to take what they are doing seriously, animates them and so their work improves. I suppose it's the ethos of the studio Black Pig, everybody working together, professional practice is picked-up without even being thought about. Norman Ackroyd once said to me "If you get yoir practice right, you've eliminated eighty percent of tne opposition."
The thing is with Marmoleum is that it's better than the grey linoleum manufactured specifically for linocut, which has a higher linseed oil content to make it easier to cut but crumblier as a result. So flooring grade is better.
Beautiful work! I'm a builder who's enjoyed installing marmoleum in a number of bathrooms, including my own. I love working with the material as a builder, and would like to start lino printing, and wondered if it might be suitable, thank you for answering my question. Remnants can be gotten quite inexpensively from flooring stores. I had to chuckle though, after scolding people, you went on to (erroneously) surmise that marmoleum contains marble dust, which it doesn't. I thought, "There's nothing wrong with being an amateur and not knowing, but why are you putting your guesses out in an instructional video, without researching the product you're endorsing?" I understand, it's an irrelevant matter, but the contradiction of principle was amusing to me. I certainly understand the importance of quality tools! Thank you for sharing your skill and humility, they're both inspiring.
Thank you for your feedback Jacob. As for the marmoleum aside, I can't remember but I think I said in the video that I was entirely basing that on the fact that Spanish for marble is marmol. I talk a lot of nonsense as do many other pundits, I think you just have to take what you can get from these things. I'm also far too lazy and distracted to research things properly.
@@pandorareilly4607 Yes, you were very clear that that was a guess, and a reasonable one. Good thing it doesn't have marble dust, otherwise you'd probably spend more time sharpening your tools than cutting! I quite enjoy hearing the random thoughts of skilled craftsmen, I just couldn't resist noticing what seemed to me a contradiction. Cheers
@Jacob MacLeod Hi Jacob, it does contain finely ground limestone though, as per this nice short how it's made video. ua-cam.com/video/xFVBPKJFxxM/v-deo.html . I can imagine it will dull tools quicker than some materials, but with the surface coating removed might make a versatile strop. I am looking forward to getting some remnants to try.
Great to see you working close up Chris, amazing detail.
I bought the red handled roller and linocut tools recently. My reason was I had not tried engraving since high school and wanted to give it a go. I had some immediate success and really enjoyed it, and now will not mind spending more on better stuff as I hit limitations with the cheap tools I have. So I think just for a wekend play project the cheap tools or great for most hobbies/professions but yeah much past that and the value of the good stuff becomes useful fast.
Mesmerizing line work!
As always an excellent video. Thanks for posting!
You're a good teacher. I'll be watching more of your videos; thank you!
I found a few rolls of membrane backed roofing vinyl in a skip and it works great. It's a little soft, but I've had some great results with it.
I’ve started engraving on vinyl floor tiles, you just have to sand them down of the glue lines before you work on them.
Dear Mr. Pig, Thank you for the beautiful, instructional and fun videos! I'd so love to come to some of your workshops but Frome isn't exactly close (albeit not so far... perhaps I'll come one day, who knows!)
I have one question about the Van Son rubber-based ink: how do you clean the lino plates, rollers etc? Does it need solvent? I'm so tempted to get some but if it needs cleaning up with white spirit or such I'll have to organise a cleaning station outside ... Thank you!
What a wonderful video and piece of art. Does marmoleum keep and store as well as linoleum.
Well I've only been using it for a few years so I don't know. Cuttiing lino, the grey stuff gets unusably brittle after about ten years, so I would imagine that marmoleum fares better.
This is a new comment on an old video-wondering if you have a preference between the 2.0 mm thick sheet Marmoleum, or the slightly thicker (2.5 mm) tile, or the very thick (9.8 mm) click flooring?
Out of curiosity, are you using a typical u gauges, or can you use burins and engraving tools as well??
Hello! Love your video's 😊
What grit do you use for your sanding block, on the marmolium?
Thank you,
Dan wanket
Hello there Chris Pig! I'm Chris Simons, a printmaker from Sacramento, California.
I'm still a student studying at college/university, and this weekend I went to a local flooring store and bought some Marmoleum.
It's great! I sanded all the samples and it smells great.
But California has recently banned all mythelated spirits, so I couldn't find any at the hardware store today.
I do have 91% Rubbing Alcohol though! Would that work just as well? What does the alcohol do?
Hello Chris. That's funny because oir government won't let us have rubbing alcohol. I thinkmthey think we'll drink that instead of wine and beer etc. Rubbing alcohol is even better, it's to degrease the block makimg it more receptive to transfer with graphite. Hope that helps!
@@chrispig1920 That's excellent! Thank you very much, and happy printing
Are you heating the Marmoleum prior to carving? I'm wondering if it softens slightly under heat.
Nope. If your tools are sharp you should never need to soften the matrix. I'm old enough to have been taught by tutors who would recommend putting battleship lino on the radiator if it was a little stiff. If you heat lino or marmoleum it turns to unusable mush.I used to sometimes put battleship lino in the freezer to make it more responsive but marmoleum is just right, once abraded
Thank you. Looking forward to seeing more of your videos Chris 😀.@@chrispig1920
Mr. Pig, I have recently started investigating the use of Marmoleum as a linocut material. Concerning the surface sanding preparation I was wondering how much sanding was necessary. Are you trying to remove the high textural points of the material in order to have a smooth surface or are you only removing a surface film that would prevent ink from adhering well to the material? Thank you.
That's difficult to define but I suppose the latter, the surface has to be abraded until It's really smooth somthat it takes the ink more efficiently.
@norman39110 This how it's made video, only 4 minutes long, shows that it has a double layer surface coating, maybe this has to be removed for best ink adhesion. The addition of ground limestone might cause it to dull tools quicker than other material. ua-cam.com/video/xFVBPKJFxxM/v-deo.html
I want to be taken over too
Your cutting tool is very nice indeed, and small. May I ask what size and brand it is? Thanks for your great videos and advice 😊
It's a pfeil 12/1 v tool
don't cut toward yourself!!!!!
Rules are for the abeyance of fools and the guidance of the wise. This man has forty years of experience, I’m sure he knows what he is doing by now.