Linoprinting, taking inspiration from Bill Fick

I spent a term creating linoprints of skulls for part of my art GCSE. Taking inspiration from Otto Dix's sombre images, Damien Hirst's desensitisation of skulls and Bill Fick's printing technique, I produced a lino cut, which I printed in black, white, gold and silver:

During this project, I became particularly interested in Bill Fick. Although not as well known as others in his field, he produces what are, in my opinion. the most quirky, creative, and interesting linoprints I have come across. A lot of his work can be seen on his blog, http://billfick.com/.

I was particularly drawn to his skull prints, for example:

Perhaps I was immediately drawn to this piece by the subject matter: a skull, or perhaps it was the skull's hypnotic eyes that drew me in. The patterns Fick uses create tone and texture in an interesting and unique style while the direction of his cut show shape and 3-dimensionality. The simplicity of the lino, in its monotone and harsh outline, combined with the detail of the pattern create an interesting print, and I think that is what makes Fick's prints so interesting. I tried to include aspects of this in my own work, for example the directional swirl in my skull's forehead and the pattern around the teeth.