LinocutMemberPrintmaking

Anna Hermsdorf

posted by POP Members May 4, 2021

Anna Hermsdorf is a linocut printmaker from Germany. She started practising linocut back in 2018, and a few months ago she finally quit her day job as a designer at an agency to become fully self-employed.

In late 2018 Anna created her first ‘whimsical girl’ print. The piece was composed of three separate lino blocks printed in layers in order to produce the final motif. Since then, she has produced over 60 designs in this way. For Anna, her working process is always the same: she conducts research on one topic that inspires her at that moment, creates a rough sketch, and then switches to her iPad Pro to draw digitally. This way, Anna can easily determine the colours and layers she wants to produce. She then prints out the designs and transfers them to lino blocks. Anna’s ‘girl’ prints are always composed of three blocks with three or more colours involved.

Anna prints using oil based relief inks by Cranfield Colours, as well as Caligo Safe Wash and metallic shades. All prints are pressed on her Woodzilla and she makes a deliberate decision to not print on “fancy paper” as she wants the focus of her pieces to be on the image and colours.

Colour is vital to Anna’s designs, and although she occasionally incorporates metallic shades and black, her main focus is to produce colourful, vibrant prints. The depiction of female characters defines Anna’s work; be that famous pioneers of history, professions, or hobbies. In June 2020 she started working on a zodiac series which will soon come to an end with her interpretation of Taurus.

@annahermsdorf

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