'WAVES' A NEW PRINT

A few months ago I decided to be a bit more ‘spontaneous’ in my approach to my next print. I felt that my work was becoming too pre-planned and risked losing that sense of serendipity that is be part of the printing process; the cutting and printing of the block was becoming, essentially mechanical exercise. To this end, after a few initial pencil marks on the lino, the rest of the ‘drawing’ was done using my No. 12 blade as the reduction stages progressed. Of course, working in this ‘spontaneous’ way inevitably resulted in me making many ‘spontaneous’ mistakes. What was supposed to be a single block reduction print using 7 colours, ended up as a 3 block print with so many overprints and reductions I lost track of the number of colours and hues used!

Based on a very old 5 x 4 photo I took years ago on a Greek island holiday, the print measures 30 x 40cms. Printed with T.N. Lawrence oil based inks (using vast quantities of reducing medium) on Bristol Board, ‘Waves’ is in an edition of 12 - having lost 3 to ‘spontaneous’ mistakes!

A NEW PRINT

I’ve finally finished my latest print: ‘A Common Snipe’.A combination of Christmas and the New Year as well as my inability to work for more than a few hours at a time has meant that it has taken well over two months. The print measures 30 x 21cms. and is printed in fourteen reductions as well as a second block and tissue masks. As usual I have used Lawrence oil based printing ink ( with a lot of reducing medium), printing on to Bristol Board.

Now for something a lot simpler and much more spontaneous!

ILKLEY ARTS 'DRAWING IN' EXHIBITION

Ilkley Arts are holding their latest exhibition at the Solar Gallery at the Manor House in Ilkley. Commencing this weekend, 9th Dec 2019, it is entitled ‘Drawing In’. I suspect that this was supposed to reflect the season, as the days get shorter - and we start to hunker down around the fire. I didn’t really have many prints that obviously reflected that theme so I decided on a bit of interpretation.

My three submissions are ‘Drawing In’ - line, - tone and - colour. They are all reduction lino prints done in Lawrence oil based inks on Bristol Board are titled:

‘Chair on the Stairs - Sunnybank Mills’.

‘Pied Wagtails at Linton Falls’

‘Gannets - from Bempton Cliffs’

I leave you to determine which image reflects the appropriate emphasis! Do get along to the exhibition if you can, the quality and range of work is excellent!

Ilkley Arts 'Light' Exhibition.

Ilkley Arts are opening an exhibition based on the theme of ‘Light’. The exhibition will be in the Solar Gallery at the Manor House in the centre of the town and starts on Saturday 20th July.

These are the three prints I’m hoping to show. From the left, a view of the Marine Lake on the Dee Estuary at West Kirby, Ullswater, and Crosby Beach on Liverpool Bay.

A New Print

‘NORWEGIAN COAST WITH ARCTIC TERNS’

I’ve just completed a new print based on our trip up the Norwegian coast to the Arctic Circle in February last year. Not having done this trip, or visited Norway before, we were surprised (and, at times, alarmed) by how close to the shore our 15000 ton ship would sail! Along the shoreline it would appear that any land inclined at less than 45 degrees was cultivated. The print is based on a field just north of Bergen that crossed the snow line. Previous preparatory harrowing of the land had left a regular and irregular pattern of snow and tractor marks which fascinated me. During the trip our ship was constantly escorted by Arctic Terns so I chose to include a flight of four!

Having included 13 reductions on my last print I was determined to make this simpler so kept it to just 6, although I did use 10 different colour hues! Measuring 30 x 40cms. it is printed in T.N. Lawrence oil based inks on Bristol Board in a limited edition of 10.

‘NORWEGIAN COAST WITH ARCTIC TERNS’

A New Print

I’ve finally finished my new print ‘Eider Ducks’. Based on personal observations and photos near the Farne Islands, it measures 30 x 40cms. and is printed on Bristol Board using T.N.Lawrence oil base relief inks. It’s a reduction linoprint using thirteen different hues/tones of colour.

I chose to bring the the female to the foreground for, although the male has a more dramatic plumage, I really wanted to emphasize the more subtle colouring of the female.

The print is for sale and details can be found on the Sea/River Bird folder on the ‘Birds’ page.

Many thanks again to Conrad Cookson who made the table top easel for me that has been a great help and to Keith Dickinson for his expert photographic help today!

Eider Ducks.