Yesterday’s Package

test ink 2c

Yesterday’s package was tins of new ink! Caligo / Cranfield Safe Wash litho / relief ink in black, for my test blocks. And here’s the second of my test blocks cut into MDF. The first, last week, gave unsatisfactory results but one of my WordPress chums, Siver Black, gave me a tip, to apply three coats of a 50:50 mix of shellac varnish and methylated spirits.

I’m delighted with the results. I used Hosho Japanese paper and took the print by hand, using a Japanese baren.

test ink 2d

I did a second proof print with chine collé, using a hand-made banana paper in dark red. This is part of the commission I’m working on for Sky Arts Art50.

sky-arts art 50 mash up

 

Oooh! A Package!

test ink 2a

Ooohh!!! A Package! What am I going to do with that?

Seagulls At Sunset

seagulls

Seagulls at sunset hanging out of the spiky bits on top of the towers on top of the mosque that used to be a church. There was a seagull on each one.

Kazuo Ohno’s Dance Philosophy

This is so interesting, about Japanese dance https://wp.me/p3x4lI-p7

Test Blocks And Neck Ache

test block 2

So I’m getting seriously into the development of my woodblock now and going through some testing stages; working out whether to have the image cut into the block, so it prints light, or cutting the block away around it, so it prints dark; which of my cutting tools to use; should the cutting be controlled and formal or dynamic and expressive?

I cut two blocks over the past two days. The first (above) is currently in the garden shed having had three coats of shellac mixed 50:50 with methylated spirits to seal it (thanks to fellow blogger Siver Black for the tip). Hopefully I’ll be able to take a test proof this weekend.

The second is a more complete design and is now ready to be varnished. I’m getting better at cutting because I am being more rigorous about keeping my tools sharp with my leather strop. It makes a huge difference.

test block 3

But after two days of block cutting, I’ve got a stiff neck. A lot of people don’t realise how physical art is. I keep fit by alternating between weights and Tai Chi each morning but even so, it takes it’s toll, especially as you get older. I think I need to soak in a hot, herby bath.

 

 

Many Words……

words 1

Yesterday I showed how I started out developing a new piece of art, working though a process which ended up with lots of words rather than pictures. Today I took those words and started playing with the shapes of the letters and the shapes between the letters…..abstracting from the original letters in the same way that I might abstract from a visual image like a sketch. In doing so, I am working towards making the letters into visual images. Tomorrow, I’m going to cut one or two of these into a woodblock to see what they look like.

 

words 1

And Then There Was The Word

last day 1

The process of developing a new artwork sometimes takes some surprising twists and turns. When I started working on my new commission for Sky Arts Art50, I thought I’d be doing visual motifs, but after humming and haahing for a while, and reading loads of research, I found myself writing on walls, all over the walls in the elysium studio I had throughout September. A few visuals popped up, but mostly the words kept flowing. I thought I’d develop imagery from the words, but it just wasn’t happening.

words

So then I started putting the words together. It took a while trying out different combinations but then I came up with a grouping which sounded pretty good when read aloud. But no visuals. Then I thought, “Why do I have to have visual motifs?”, and I did a bit more research, looking at artists like Bob and Roberta Smith, the printmaker Paul Peter Piech and Ghada Amer whose work incorporates text. So I started experimenting with these words.

design 3

And I think I’m starting to get somewhere. But I wasn’t happy about the words just being … well … written. I know that sounds weird but I’m a visual artist and I see patterns in things, it’s what I do.

 

But you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see what’s occurring because I want to spend a bit more time working on my ideas ………

 

 

 

 

 

Foxing!

watercolours

I’ve been developing ideas for my commission from Sky Arts Art 50, working out my thoughts using my home-made walnut ink and Winsor & Newton watercolours onto Waterford watercolour paper. It’s a heavy, deckle-edged paper that withstands the very wet medium without needing to be soaked and stretched. I wouldn’t normally use such high quality paper for working though ideas, but this is vintage paper that I was given, that hadn’t seen the light of day for about a decade and it has signs of foxing .

Talking of foxing reminded me of one of my favourite film scenes, Garth from Wayne’s World dancing to Jimi Hendrix’ Foxy Lady. Here it is for those who can see YouTube 😀

 

design 3

 

Sneaky blinder.

Here’s a delightful post from fellow Swansea artblogger, Doodlemum, featuring her naughty dog, Bonnie….. who has been up to no good …..

Moving Along

dragons eye 1

I spent a couple of days doing test prints from a sample woodblock I cut, but today I decided to get on with the design for the commission, working it up onto a large sheet of Waterford watercolour paper with my own home-made walnut ink and some watercolour paint. I’m still in the early stages, each time I redraw my ideas, the whole thing develops and matures but I’ve a long way to go.

window

But I’ve come a long way too. Here’s my starting point, in the window of my studio, from about 4 weeks ago.