Wildflowers and Point Lobos

Gordon Louis Mortensen

California’s coastline in spring and early summer dazzles the eye with a great variety of brilliantly colored wildflowers. Mortensen uses the theme of wildflowers frequently in his color woodcuts and his Wildflowers and Point Lobos uses the color and textures of the wildflowers to draw the eye of the viewer to the calm bay waters. Mortensen has mastered the technique of layering colors to provide depth, delicacy, shadow and light.

Gordon Mortensen commented on the process he uses:

"Only one woodblock is used. On it an image is drawn in India ink. Before the first color is printed, any areas that are to remain unprinted (white or the color of the paper) are cut away from the surface of the block. Then an oil base ink is used to print the first color on all of the sheets of paper that are to be used for the edition and proofs. After the first printing the block is again cut, removing any surface of the block that is to remain the first color in the finished print. After each subsequent color is printed, the block is cut, the process continues until the print is finished and most of the surface of the block is cut away."