Jeanne Amato Woodblock Prints

Experience Jeanne Amato’s striking woodblock prints hanging in our Remarkable Home art gallery and here online. Jeanne is a Vermont artist inspired by local natural settings including trees, sunsets and red barns. Her work is available either as a matted print or framed.

Natural Beauty, Lighting & Mood

Vermont's natural beauty is a clear inspiration to Jeanne. The emphasis on lighting and mood gives her work a sense of place that is difficult to achieve in woodblock prints. The rich colors, the deep shadows, the attention to detail, and the brilliant lighting are all techniques she has perfected after years of study and training with outstanding artists. A Jeanne Amato print on your wall feels like looking through a Vermont window.

Ancient Woodblock Art Form

Woodblock prints, or woodcuts, are an ancient form of relief printmaking dating back to 200 AD. It involves tracing a drawing onto wood (cloth originally for spiritual texts) and then cutting away sections to create raised areas for the ink to adhere to. Jeanne received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1985 from Keene State College where she studied printmaking with John Roberts. Upon moving to central Vermont, she had the great opportunity to work many years as assistant to renowned Vermont printmaker, Sabra Field.

“The ancient tradition of the block print is receiving a new interpretation in Jeanne Amato’s hands.” Sabra Field, Vermont Printmaker

Building a Visual Puzzle

Jeanne’s photographs inspire her to draw and then trace them onto a Japanese plywood specially made for printmaking. She uses various gauges, knives and tools to create detail, texture, shapes and forms into the wood. She then proofs and prints each block in succession on a single sheet of Japanese “washi” paper. Sometimes prints require numerous blocks depending upon desired composition and colors. Jeanne says it’s like “building a visual puzzle, one piece (or block, in this case) at a time until all of the spaces are occupied or filled with a color or pattern.” Imagine one print created with three blocks: the sky on one, the foreground on the second and the trees on the third.

Unique & Long Lasting Custom Frames

Each woodblock is available at our gallery custom framed by Lassie Barile of Vermont Framemakers in Waterbury Center. Lassie has chosen a beautiful thin blue-grey wooden frame to complement the neutral tones of Jeanne’s prints. The frame and glass are museum conservation quality and offer a 99% UV protective filtering glaze, anti-reflective glass, acid free foamcore, mat board, foamcore and dry mounting.

Established in 1982, Lassie is well-known for her unique one-of-a-kind frames she handcrafts and finishes in-house. She uses the best materials and guarantees her work will protect and preserve the artwork allowing it to be admired for years to come.