William H. Hays

A full-time professional painter since the early years of his working career, William Hays began explorations in linocut printing in 2007. By 2012 William’s woodblock and linocut prints had become his sole focus. In this pursuit he is entirely self taught.

William uses a reduction method to make his prints, printing all the sheets of a print edition in one batch from a single printing block that he step-by-step and color-by-color repeatedly carves as he lays in colors over the course of days or weeks. He prints using an etching press on an acid-free 100% cotton American-made Stonehenge paper using the finest printing inks. This approach relies heavily on a vision informed by his years of painting: the impact and success of his images arises from strong initial conceptions.