I used my little Mari Lwyd lino block in three ways during my one-day residency at The Workers Gallery in the Rhondda Valley. First, to print onto a cotton shirt, then overprinting on top of circular monotypes, and finally I printed the block on some marbled papers I had made a few months back. I like this, it reminds me of 1960s psychedelia.
Here are some different colourways of my little Mari Lwyd lino block and Gel Plate monotypes that I was experimenting with during my residency at The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir last week. It’s a lovely place, do try and visit if you can.
The Gel prints were made with Cranfield Safe Wash Relief inks in Process Yellow, Magenta and Cyan onto HoSho paper and the linocut printed with Black Safe Wash. I used a circular Gel plate, 10cm diameter, and I created the textures with a combination of fruit nets (like you buy oranges in) and bubblewrap, overlaying translucent oil-based inks. Each monotype is different.
I had fun overprinting my little Mari Lwyd lino block onto some circular Gel Plate monotypes. The monotypes were done using fruit nets and bubble wrap and Cranfield Safe-Wash relief inks mixed heavily with Extender. The three primary Process colours, overlaid, give a lovely range of secondary colours and tertiary tones. I was experimenting during my residency at The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir last week. It’s a lovely place, do try and visit if you can.
I spent a day up The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir yesterday and took a small lino block of a Mari Lwyd I cut a couple of years ago. I thought I’d try doing different things with it. I printed a border on a cheap cotton shirt (here) and then I switched inks and printed Mari’s head over some little Gel Plate monotypes I did a few weeks back (here). I really like the result. They’re psychedelic Maris!
The Gel prints were made with Cranfield Safe Wash Relief inks in Process Yellow, Magenta and Cyan onto HoSho paper and the linocut printed with Black Safe Wash.
I did my one-day artist residency at The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir today and had a great time, some really fascinating people came into the gallery and first off, I used my Mari Lwyd lino block to print up a cotton shirt, a cheap buy from TK Maxx, with Speedball Fabric Block Printing Ink.
Husb and I made our own Mari Lwyd from a kit and I’ll wear this shirt when we take the Mari out and about next New Year.
Now that I’ve made the decision to go all Pop Art with the “Triples” paintings I’m working on, the work is going quickly. Using a black line in a comic book style really appeals to me. Loads more to do as there are 15 portraits in 5 paintings. I hope I don’t hit another creative block!
I posted a couple of weeks ago about how I’d hit a creative block with my “Triples” paintings, I didn’t know which way to go with them. I had some really positive encouragement from other artists and after a lot of thought (well, agonising really) I told myself to stop being so precious and make a stylistic decision and get on with it. So I did. I decided to move them towards Pop Art.
So the first step is putting a black line around everything and it already looks so much better – decisive and not wishy-washy any more. Now the features are lined, I’m going in with colour, but more opaque this time, to get a comic book look. There are five paintings of three figures, so 1 down, 14 to go!
Here’s some shameless self-promotion for my one-day artist residency at The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir this coming Friday. I’ll be bringing the flat-pack Mari Lwyd that Husb and I made from a kit designed by David Pitt for TRAC. It includes the outfit I printed with a Mari Lwyd design cut into a lino block. I’ll also be printing up a cotton shirt with the Mari design …. a cheap buy from TK Maxx. And if there’s time, I’ll print up some onto paper with chine colle. Pop by and see me …..
Husb and I were having a picnic the other day on the banks of the River Tawe, opposite a newly built office block and we spotted these 2 pigeons on the edge, in front of the reflections of the building. It didn’t look real, the reflections seem like a very lovely piece of graphic design – I’d be happy to use that image for a screen print. I didn’t scribble this time, I snapped with my Samsung smart phone.
Here’s a 1 minute film of some of my drawings of Mari Lwyds. I drew them en plein air at various Mari Lwyd “Meets” across South Wales, mostly before the Covid19 lockdown. The “Meets” are slowly returning and I’m looking forward to being out and about with them again in the coming Midwinter and New Year.
Here’s the little film ….
I’m doing a 1 day residency up The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir on September 15th – all about the Mari Lwyd. Come and visit me if you’re in the area 🙂
scribblah 