Linocut artist Aileen Brown is an expert in colour and composition. Her artworks perfectly capture the mood of summer.
Each time I look at Brown’s prints, I see different themes emerge. Sometimes it is the movement of city life, the urban landscape changing around us. But now amid the heat of summer, I’m connecting with the warm tones and languid scenes.
Brown’s prints recollect the feeling of having spent a lazy day at the beach. Tired, sandy and happy.
Her bold and sharp images spark childhood nostalgia for road trips and activities; for made up games with my sisters; adventures in nature.
There is comfort in the artworks, an appreciation for the small moments in life, the everyday minutia of summer holidays.
Brown has exhibited her art since the 1980s and has also illustrated a number of books. A striking example of her intricate cutting and layering skills can be seen in this self-portrait.
Linocut artworks can be achieved with different techniques. Brown, who also teaches art, uses both the multi block technique and the reduction technique. Her website has some examples of both processes, showing how the carving and printing process develops to create the finished print.
Each image below shows a different layer being printed from different blocks and the cumulative outcome. The last layer is the rain fall.
Multi Block Linocut Technique – Cardboard Umbrella, 2017. Blog post by Aileen Brown, 2017. Copyright Aileen Brown. Reproduced with permission.
It is fascinating to see behind the scenes of the artist’s work and the technical process of layering colour light to dark for the image construction.
The example above is for a multi block print called Cardboard umbrella. It is similar to one of the prints the library acquired called The umbrella. This work perfectly captures the experience of an unpredictable weather change in Melbourne.
To see all 32 of the recently acquired and digitised artworks by Aileen Brown, follow this link,
Collection of linocuts of people and places in Victoria by Aileen Brown.
Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Aileen Brown, 2022.
All images in copyright to Aileen Brown and have been reproduced with permission.
For more on Aileen Brown’s art:
