Ruin #1: End of the Day, Reduction woodcut, 14.5 x 20 cm, 2022

Ruin #3: Amoreira, Reduction woodcut, 14.5 x 20 cm, 2022

Ruin #4: Cloudy Day, Reduction woodcut, 14.5 x 20 cm, 2022

Prison Walls of Peniche #1, Reduction woodcut, 30 x 40 cm, 2022

Prison Walls of Peniche #2, reduction woodcut, 30 x 40 cm, 2022

Car Parks and Sidewalks 1, reduction woodcut, 33 x 43 cm, 2021

Car Parks and Sidewalks 2, reduction woodcut, 33 x 43 cm, 2021

A Casa Cor-de-Rosa, reduction woodcut, 10″ x 10″, paper 14″ x 14″, 2022

Key West #1, reduction woodcut, 10″ x 10″, 2019

Key West #3, reduction woodcut, 10″ x 10″, 2019

Central Valley, reduction woodcut, 15″ x 19.5″, 2019

Central Valley #2, reduction woodcut, 15″ x 19.5″, 2019

Isle of Portland #2, reduction woodcut, 9″ x 12″, paper 13″ x 16″, 2018

Andes: Urban Panorama #2, 2-block reduction woodcut, 16″ x 20″, paper 20″ x 24″, 2018

Andes: Urban Panorama #5, 2-block reduction woodcut, 16″ x 20″, paper 20″ x 24″, 2018

My artwork has focused on that seen in my immediate surroundings. Forms, natural and man-made, environmental issues, all feature in my prints. Increasingly I find myself drawn to the many old and abandoned homes I see in daily walks, as well as the outlines of rooftops, angles and sunlight play on concrete and tile. The juxtaposition of architecture in landscape, color specks on hills, building standing upon building, all provide inspiration.

My attraction to printmaking comes from a fascination with the many ways I am able to play with images, determining the appropriate processes, juxtaposing shapes and colors, and changing the feel of my work by the aesthetic choices I make. I love the surprises which come with each new layer of ink in the reduction print. The carving of woodblocks, rolling ink, and the repetition of printing become meditative. Each print has from 10 to 25 colors, in opaque and transparent form, acquiring a physicality of layers.

© Cynthia Back