Linocut: Portrait of Katrina

This is the first portrait I ever attempted in linocut; definitely not the last. I think it was the most successful, however, and in the course of time as I post the others, you may be the judge of that.

This is my friend Katrina. She lives in England and has long been supportive of my writing career. For her part, she is a staggeringly talented artist. You know how there are people you know who are really good at something? This goes beyond that: when she finishes a painting, I think, It is highly unlikely that my path could have crossed with someone of such talent. You know? You expect people with that calibre of talent and skill to exist on completely different strata from yourself. You expect to read about them, maybe, if you happen upon the proper obscure art magazine whose demographic is still a few strata above your own.

She is also a very lovely woman, and it was my vanity to render a linocut based on one of my favorite portraits of her. Not knowing what I was getting into, I quickly decided it should be a symbolic representation of aspects of her rather than an exact portrait. Maybe if I continue linocutting and get very good at it, I can try it again and do a smoother, crisper job. As it is, I'm not terribly disappointed with how this turned out... until I stare at it too long.