Raptor Linocuts

The idea for these large linoleum cut raptor prints came to me on a trip to Salt Lake City to visit my friend, who is also a print maker. I wanted to work large, to see if the medium could communicate the scale and imposing nature of my favorite raptors.

I love the simple, regal appearance of these raptors. I love the fine detail of their delicate wings, and the sharp points of their beaks and talons. I relished these aspects of the image by employing the detail-oriented nature of the linoleum cut print medium. 

We usually see raptors from far away; they have always been mysterious to us. Drawing and carving a creature at large scale in manifold detail is, finally, an attempt to get closer. It’s a way to know; a way to quell an endless curiosity. In a way, my travels overseas were also a way to quell curiosity - to explore different corners of the earth just to see what it was like- to check my imagination against reality.

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I started by making digital studies of my proposed raptor compositions. I included the sun/moon behind the heads to frame the large, regal bodies of the birds.