Tag Archives: woodcuts

The Whole Night Through – David Frampton

The most fascinating thing about this children’s picture book is the way in which the illustrations were done. Author David Frampton created them using woodcuts. Those are like a big stamp, made out of wood, which he then covers in paint and presses down on paper. Every single page in this book was created using four woodcuts, one for each color. After he presses down one woodcut with one shade of paint, he uses another one, dipped in a different shade. The four colors used in this story are purple, yellow, green and black. There’s a touch of pink and … Continue reading →

The Cat in Art: The Ancient World To 1600

Although the cat as we know it today first appeared on the scene about 10 million years ago, it took another two thousand years to establish a healthy interaction with humans. Cats protected the farmer’s grain from mice and other rodents and the farmer protected and gave shelter to an otherwise feral cat population. Although cats are represented (although rarely) in some prehistoric cave paintings, they seemed to have made their artistic debut in murals found on the palace walls of Minoan Crete. Many animals are depicted among lush vegetation, and in one fragment a cat can be seen behind … Continue reading →