Doctor Who: A Cut Above

Doctor Who: A Cut Above by Symon Leech

Lino cutting is a merciless technique, I’m not quite sure why I choose such fiddly techniques to do my art, maybe I’m a glutton for punishment? I’ve been an artist for a couple of years now and I’ve been exploring a range of awkward techniques including pointillism and whacking old records with a hammer!

The art I produce is generally based around things I love; mainly Science Fiction and Horror. Doctor Who was a formative experience as a child and from behind the sofa my mind was warped by Tom Baker, the Daleks and the Cybermen, so it’s hardly a surprise that I’ve looked to that as an inspiration for a new series of lino prints.

Tom Baker as seen in the opening titles, printed on a script page for “The Talons of Weng Chiang” (1977)

My first career was in science and so I’ve taken to experimenting with my art, so printing onto vintage books was a relatively logical step. I learned to lino print whilst teaching science in a school for pupils with special needs. I wandered into the art department during a free lesson and one of the students taught me how to do it, so off I went!

The original lino cut of Peter Capaldi as The Doctor in the TARDIS

The technique is quite demanding, it involves cutting a design into lino. Once finished, the design is inked and used to print, basically it’s fancy potato printing! The complication comes when designing the image. It has to be carved back to front and in negative, so a very particular mindset is required. The image is then carved into the lino using a special chisel or gouge. The carving requires a steady hand and a willingness to occasionally shed one’s own blood in the name of art!

My first linocut was inspired by one of my other interests- Cthulhu! This spread into other subjects such as Lord of the Rings, Dracula and Frankenstein. Of course the books I use are damaged; I have a very good relationship with the ladies from the local Oxfam!

I struggled to find something to print Doctor Who onto. People suggested that I dig out some of the old target books but short of trawling Ebay I couldn’t find any. However, I met a charming chap from the SciFi Ball, Andrew Keates, who suggested I use scripts. Now I had to trawl Ebay for these and I found a little gem, “The Magician’s Apprentice”. So, armed with my new script I produced a limited run of prints featuring Capaldi and Missy.

Missy printed on a script page for “The Magicians Apprentice” (2015)

Peter Capaldi as The Doctor, printed on a script page for “The Magicians Apprentice” (2015)

There will be more images to follow including Leela and Patrick Troughton.

Please support the work of Symon and Brambledown Designs by visiting his Patreon page