end of summer ...

My creative side has been feeling a bit squeezed of late. I think all the talk of Christmas buzzing around the forums (and the mince pies in the Coop) has made me realise just how unprepared I am to make the most of this busy selling time. Just like last year. And the year before. 

I've had to take a moment to remind myself of what I have managed to do over the summer months to convince myself I haven't stood stock still for the duration. It doesn't amount to much inky stuff on paper but I have supplied a couple of new stockists (details to come) and I have just completed a commission piece (see extract above). And there is a new piece on the way ... i think :)

Are you ready for Christmas or, like me, are you shutting your eyes and hoping it goes away?

artichoke flowers

I couldn't bring myself to fell the artichokes for eating and one by one they burst into the most amazing purple flowers. They were short lived though and this is the only one I managed to photograph. I'm now wondering if I should make a companion piece to this print...

oh i do love to be beside the seaside...

Just back from a blustery week in a caravan on a high hill overlooking the sea. As a lover of  wild, empty and isolated beaches Croyde came as a bit of a shock to my system but we joined in the fun all the same (I pray that no camera caught sight of me in my wetsuit on a kid's body board!). If its like this on grey day it must be bedlam when the sun shines!

My only regret (apart from not saying "be careful" before oh & son went out on a mackerel fishing trip and returned 5 mins later after son hooked 6 fish and then his own hand) was not taking the chance of a swim in this wonderful sea pool at Ilfracombe - even in the rain it look wonderful (honest!).

And just to prove that the sun did shine, once or twice...

 

Artichokes

A few snaps of my finished artichoke print, available here and here

Artichokes - work in progress

 I thought I'd share the progress of my artichokes lino print...

First plate cut

Plate for second colour being cut

First and second colour plates inked up for a test print

test print - not sure about the colours

I've run off a test print from these first two plates just to check the overall balance and registration. The only requirement was that one was a darker shade than the other and the colours I've used here this test  were just what I happened to have on the ink slab at the time. These greens are a little more muted than I had planned for this piece (see the original sketch in previous post) but now this slightly seventies palette feels just right. I'll have to lighten it up a bit though because there is a nice splash of purple to come too,  what do you think?   

print or paint

preparation for lino print  - colour pencil on tracing paper over initial pencil sketch

I've been tempted to move away from the rather pared-back style I've had of late (see Morston Quay, Pied Wagtail and Oystercatchers) by the verdant lushness of the garden. Encouraged by much of the falling-from-the-sky-wet-stuff and my lassaiz faire attitude to weeding, most parts of the garden are looking pretty crowded, and I do like it that way. I was quite put out the other day when a bloke knocked on the door and offered to cut back my weeds sweeping his point through the cow parsley, self-seeded aquilegia heads and ox eye daisies poking through the tall grasses.

Miraculously in one corner of this chaos I have managed to sustain a small group of artichokes from last year and one has a pretty good choke on it already. This little group have provided the perfect subject for a more complex piece of work. I've photographed and sketched and now have a colour-coded plan (see above) as the basis for a 3-colour print, but I am wondering if I shouldn't tried it in watercolours instead...

belated welsh post

This blog post is so tardy I might as well have sent it on the post card ... second class ... from a remote postbox ... on a bank holiday. Well better late than never so here goes...

This little pied wagtail arises from a recent break in Wales, where we learnt that rain sounds a lot heavier when you are inside a caravan and that it is possible to barbecue in light drizzle, but only if you are prepared to be the starter course for the midges.

As always I carefully packed watercolours, sheets of lovely paper and even remembered the brushes this time but some how the chance to paint just didn't arise. I did however get around to a little embroidery doodling ...

The  rhododendrons at Beddgelert were in full bloom so with this unplanned palette of slate grey, deep pink and found wool (with the "bits" washed off!) I felt quite at one with the landscape.

This is how far we reached up Snowdon...

We poked around in search of gold but this find was treasure enough.

And we built a rather spendid castle...

[Pied Wagtail is available in my Folksy and Etsy shops]