Capturing speed & movement in Linocut
Week Three's colours are Rust, Cielo Blue, Parchment & Taupe
My thanks once again to everyone who’s joined Coloricombo as a contributing subscriber: you make this weekly newsletter possible.
If you’re joining up, please do so from your computer or a browser on your mobile device (e.g. Safari, Chrome etc.) and not directly through the Substack App if you use it.
Reason is that Apple adds their own ‘tax’, a rather unethical 30% to purchases that go through ‘their’ apps so you just end up paying more. I found this out recently when I tried to setup a Facebook advert on my iPhone so this doesn’t just apply to subscribing to my Substack. Oh and Google does the same. For more info, read here.
Lill Tschudi (1911-2004) was a Swiss printmaker and a Modernist whose bold, dynamic linocuts captured the technological and industrial changes of 20th century. Born in Schwanden, a small village in the east of Switzerland, she discovered linocuts after seeing an exhibition by Austrian artist Norbertine Bresslern-Roth.
After finishing schooling, Tschudi moved to London to attend the Grosvenor School of Modern Art, studying under the charismatic Claude Flight from 1929 to 1930. His approach to linocut shaped Tschudi’s work profoundly with cuts depicting motion and speed, ideal to depict the rapidly changing Europe of the Machine Age. Her subject matter included city life, workers on electricity pylons and the London Underground depitched in colour with an almost kinetic energy.
After London, Tschudi spent five years in Paris studying with some of the well known Modernists: André Lhote, Gino Severini and Fernand Léger. These influences deepened her work and she turned her attention to Parisian themes of jazz bands and circus performers. In 1935, she returned to Schwanden where she remained for the rest of her life, producing over 355 linocuts in her career with many of these depicting the physical exertion of sportsmen and women: skiers, gymnasts and runners.
It wasn’t until 1986 that Switzerland recognised Tschudi’s achievements and awarded her their national print prize. Her work is now held in major collections worldwide with the largest at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
See more examples of Tshudi’s work here and here and read more about her here.
“Bells”, coloured linocut print, Lill Tschudi, 1937
Colour Combination
The colours this week are Rust, Cielo Blue, Parchment & Taupe. Use the colours along with a contrasting dark and neutral light colour to create an artwork in any medium or style. Share this post with someone who likes colour and might enjoy a weekly dollop of colour and creativity.
Shapes
Here’s this week’s shape, inspired by some of the elements I found in Lill Tschudi’s linocuts. Download it as a PDF and use it as you choose, maybe as background elements or cut the shapes out and rearrange them.
.