Joanne Spencer – Handcrafted Reduction Lino Prints and Wall Art

Reduction Lino Prints and Wall Art

Joanne Spencer is the artist who brightens your life thru handcrafted reduction Lino prints and wall art genre.

She lives in a little town in Wiltshire.

Anybody who knows Wiltshire will understand Joanne’s influence and where it comes from.

Most of us know Wiltshire because of one of the best know ancient monuments.

Which one do you think it might be?

Well, I’ll give you a clue: it’s prehistoric…I think you guessed it!

It’s Stonehenge!

As well as Stonehenge there is the Avebury stone circle and many unspoiled villages like Castle Combe and Lacock, giving Joanne a wide range of subjects to translate to Lino prints.

For those who still don’t know what the Reduction Lino Printing method is, Joanne describes it in a few words:

You transfer image you want to make onto the Lino and then carving away parts of the block, inking the block to take the first colour, printing that colour and then repeating this process through all the colours you want to use. The more colours you go through the more of the Lino block you carve away, reducing the surface area.

Joanne Spencer

Joanne has made Lino prints of Stonehenge, Avebury, and some of the buildings in Wiltshire, as well as Clifton Suspension Bridge, and as a commission, further afield, The Chrysler Building in New York, as well as a variety of other prints.

As well as the architecturally inspired landscape prints, Joanne also makes nature inspired Lino prints, she loves trees, and this is evident through her Autumn Tree prints, but will try most landscapes, including moonlit water scenes.

Joanne works in small editions for her Lino prints, a maximum of 10 prints, as they are hand printed there are very slight differences in each one providing you with an individual piece of art.

The advantage of her artwork is it’s suitability for all interior design styles.

Even if we refer to a Modernist style, Traditional, Classic, Retro, Vintage, Shabby Chic, Glam, Romantic or Boho-Chic, Joanne’s handcrafted items fit perfectly into any room.

Her subjects and colour schemes can be relaxing or stimulating and are beautiful to look at.

This is the reason at least one of Joanne’s  products must not be missing from our homes…after all, we have to keep in mind that beauty is important in our lives.

To get to know her even better, Joanne was more than happy to answer a few questions:

Question 1:  What inspired you to become a Lino print artist.

The first time I started to carve a Lino block I felt like I was doing what I should be.  Printing is joyful to me because you never know what will happen until you peel the paper back and see what has happened.  If you are doing something that has a correct way to view it, for example writing, you have to reverse the image on the block, so you are constantly seeing things from different perspectives.

Question 2: When did you discover your talent?

When I was at work I had art as a hobby, when I left work in February 2017 I realised people liked the pictures I created and that pushed me to follow my dream and become a full time artist – I have no regrets.  People always say about talent, but being an artist is like everything, you might start with a basic tool kit of skills, but when you are investing a lot of time in doing something you are going to improve.  I have come along way since 2017 and have a far larger skills toolkit now.

Question 3:  What is your opinion about the current trend regarding handcraft art?

I love that there is a growing desire to look for more hand made and hand crafted items, people want beautiful things, and if they can buy a scented candle that smells lovely and the smell lasts, then it is even better if they can buy it from the person who made it, the same goes for furniture, art, collectables, people want uniqueness and going to small independent hand made businesses is the best way to get this.

Question 4: What inspires you when you come up with an idea for a theme?

Everything…

Question 5: Who is your favorite artist?

I like Rothko, although I couldn’t tell you why, and I like Beryl Cook for her unique view on life.  I am more attracted to less famous artists.  There is a lady who buys a tree, then has it sliced length ways, leaving the bark on the sides, and then paints trees onto the tree – they are lovely to look at and have a type of symmetry.  I also enjoy going around art shows in schools and seeing the talent that they nurture.

Question 6: What are your dreams now?

To keep being able to do what I love, to get better at it and for people to keep wanting to buy it so I can do my happy dance.

Question 7: Which one of your artworks represents you the most?

Probably the latest one at any given time, I feel like I evolve with each print and they get better as I learn from each one.  I have just finished one called Shakespeare’s Beach, which is the beach in Kent that people start the cross-channel swim from.  It was the first time I tried waves and close up water, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, the sea is another one of the things l love so it was nice to try and capture it in my art.

A few concluding words…

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, I hope you like the art I make, I enjoy being able to share it with you.

You can buy Joanne’s lino prints and wall art directly from her website.