Quay - work in progress

Phewee, another school holiday over, a whirlwind of travelling, walking, cycling, making, and the odd smidgeon of chocolate. It seems only yesterday that we were holed up out of the rain at Sandringham (the caravan site, not the royal residence) but we've been back a week now. That’s not to say that we didn’t have a very few good days on those stunning Norfolk beaches :) The sketch above is for a new print inspired by the marsh quays between Hunstanton and Wells.  

Random

I've been working on something a bit different for my latest print. I've been feeling that sometimes the way I approach the processes of draughting a design then transferring it to the lino prevents opportunities for a more spontaneous creation. For this print I took the random positioning of 28 little lino circles as my starting point. I covered some stiff card with pva and then moved the lino dots around in the glue until the distribution felt right. I liked the combination of black and white with accents for red in my woodpecker and oystercatchers prints so used this again.

I then transferred the positions of the dots to a fresh sheet of lino so that I could cut out white space around them.  I wasn't sure at this stage where the design would go but i started to think about the way growing wood diverges and then envelopes around protruding twigs and branches.

I sketched in a few pencil lines but then let the cutting tools lead the carving.

Random 28 ~ an original lino print ~ edition of 10

missing spring

 I've been so rushed off my feet the last month or so that I'd barely noticed that it was spring. I've supervised the first lawn mowing, counted the first open daffs, seen some very amorous woodpigeons and done basic garden chores but I hadn't really looked properly. So it was with a touch of sadness that I finally noticed that most of the pussy willow has already changed from silky grey bunny tails into chartreuse tassels. But I was really pleased see that we have a little self-seeded sloe bush growing at the end of the garden, not quiet big enough to supply a serious sloe gin habit yet but give it five years...

I am really pleased to have been selected for the Blog&Buy Sale's Springtime Showcase. You can find my stall here  alongside 17 other artists and designer makers.

Kilburn White Horse

I love the juxtaposition of the Yorkshire Gliding Club and the Kilburn White Horse in this little bit of the North York Moors and I couldn't resist sneaking the Pegasus constellation into the night sky. There are some wonderful old air photos of the horse and a fascinating story to be found here.

Kilburn Pegasus now available here

Making tracks

I like snow because it shows me that even thought I live in what seems like a fairly sterile, heavily farmed landscape, the hedgerows, ditches and small copses in between those vast arable fields are teeming with wildlife. Walking out in the fresh snow on Sunday reminded us of all the little feet, paws and claws that criss-cross our paths, mostly unseen, throughout the year. Take a peek at the tiny and oh-so-delicate paw prints next to my size 6 i the first shot :)

Paper

After a bit of experimentation I have finally settled on the ideal paper for printing Oystercatchers.

I started with a slightly textured 250gms BFK Rives in the hope of an embossed effect to set off the jet black birds and surf. I anticipated that because the areas of relief were relatively small the pressure from my nipping press would be enough to create a good impression on this heavier paper. I was wrong, although small they are rather spread out and about 4 sheets down the line I realised it was an expensive mistake. 

Next I tried my usual favourite, a nice crisp smooth white 140gms Zerkall printing paper. I achieved a couple of good prints, but it was hard work and after a few failures I gave up with this.

I then decided to try the lighter end of the paper chain and a dug out a whisper thin sheet of gampi tissue that I had been hoarding for a while. This takes the ink like a dream, I barely had to touch it let alone apply any pressure but tissue has a tendency to wrinkle as it wafts down onto the ink, which distorts the print. I was really pleased to see a possible solution to this problem on Elizabeth Banfield’s blog and I’ll be trying this out soon. Meanwhile I’ve stashed away the few good tissue prints with a plan to mount them on some whitewashed plywood board. 

Back to producing a decent edition on paper, in the end I stumbled across a good crisp &  white 70gms paper which suits this particular print perfectly. It was a chance buy, informed by price and weight rather than any pre-knowledge of the product, which is all part of the fun of buying materials online!

Oystercatchers on Inbe Epais, www.intaglioprintmaker.co.uk