Color-Reduction Woodcuts by Cathie Crawford
Healing Waters, color-reduction woodcut
Cathie Crawford is a printmaker specializing in color-reduction woodcuts. The artist is originally from New York, but has spent time living in Saudi Arabia, France, and Illinois. Cathie has won numerous awards for her prints, which are featured in collections and galleries all over the world.
Spectrum, color reduction woodcut on Kozo paper
Looking through Cathie’s portfolio I really enjoy the artist’s prismatic approach to print media, and the masterful way that she navigates the necessary cuts and slight imperfections inherent in the medium. I’m especially fond of the artist’s recent series of prints on Japanese Kozo paper. These works feature beautifully delicate lines and often lean into abstraction in their simplicity. The surface of the print reveals a rainbow gradient that appears slightly different with each edition, creating numerous similar, but totally unique works.
One of the print galleries in Cathie's portfolio website
Many of Cathie’s woodcuts take a more playful, less delicate approach – works like Lovely Legs utilize hard overlapping lines to create depth and volume on a flat surface.