Create a charming Italian landscape using a simple potato block-printing technique

Block printing is great because you don’t have to be able to draw to create a stunning effect. Anyone can cut shapes out of a potato! This project by Annie Sloan blends the simplicity of potato printing with the elegance of Italian Baroque design.

Before you start painting, plan out the design for your landscape. Choose your colour palette, then draw simple tree and house shapes to carve for your potato block prints.

Paint the whole piece in Chalk Paint™ in Graphite and then use a brush to hand-paint the sky and rolling hills that set the scene for your landscape. We used Chalk Paint in Olive, Old Ochre, Paris Grey, Arles and Whistler Grey.

Carve your shapes into the potato using a sharp knife, aiming to leave a raised relief for printing.

Apply Chalk Paint to your shapes and press them firmly onto your piece to create a block print design. Along with the colours above Annie used Original and Paprika Red.

Leave to dry and seal with a coat of Clear Chalk Paint Wax 

A full step by step for this charming little block printed Tuscan scene is in my latest book Annie Sloan Colourful Living along with 29 other brilliant upcycling projects.

Photography by Jesse Wild CICO Books