Tag Archives: printmaking

A Bit Of Columbian

I was down at Swansea Print Workshop earlier and took some time to scribble the lovely old Columbian printing press. Dating from quite early in Queen Victoria’s reign (1855) this beauty is still in use, even though it’s a little bit wobbly and idiosyncratic. It’s quite complex and I’m right out of my comfort zone,Continue reading “A Bit Of Columbian”

Drawing Darkly

I spent some time in my studio today, starting a ‘manier noir’ style drawing. It’s a type of reductive drawing, working from black to white, rubbing away areas of charcoal to reveal the highlights. It’s the very first of a substantial body of drawings and original prints I have planned. I prepared Fabriano Accademica paperContinue reading “Drawing Darkly”

Canine Couture

I spent a lovely afternoon at Galerie Simpson, Swansea’s newest arthouse, helping with the new exhibition which opens tomorrow. And I spent a half hour drawing the delightful gallery puppies, Sonny and Betty, in their couture puppy jackets. The new show features original prints by contemporary artists including Gavin Turk, Jamie Reid and Gary HumeContinue reading “Canine Couture”

Spots and Twists

I like working on direct line (trace) monotypes. It’s an immediate and spontaneous way to get an original print and the quality of the line is soft and smudgy. I also like to work with models in poses that are twisted or contrapposto, they have a dynamic interplay of forms and planes that I findContinue reading “Spots and Twists”

Twisted

  Here’s another direct line(or trace)  monotype, based on an original drawing I did in a life drawing session. I like twisted and contrapposto poses; I like the challenge of drawing them. This sort of monotype technique gives a gentle line and soft, smudgy textures. I used Intaglio Printmakers black litho/relief ink and a fairlyContinue reading “Twisted”

Smudginess Abounds

  There are different ways of doing monotype prints. This technique is called a direct line monotype. You ink up a plate, usually perspex or glass, with a very thin layer of litho / relief printing ink. Then you gently lay a piece of good quality paper, not too thick,  onto it and carefully drawContinue reading “Smudginess Abounds”

Blue Birds

I carried on with my cyanotype experiments. I have always used an ultraviolet unit to expose them in the past, which takes about 6 minutes. I wanted to see if I could expose them with natural light so I sandwiched two negatives between pieces of chemically treated paper and a sheet of glass and leftContinue reading “Blue Birds”

Comparing Blues

I did some experimental cyanotypes yesterday, comparing different papers and fabrics. I used some of my sketchbook drawings for the imagery. The best results were given by a medium weight white cotton that was dipped into the cyanotype chemicals and squeezed to remove the excess. There was also a good result with the white SomersetContinue reading “Comparing Blues”

The Blues

Spent a happy few hours at Swansea Print Workshop this evening experimenting with cyanotype. I want to do some onto fabric rather than paper so I had to try out some different materials and methods of application today. I had three different fabrics; a very lightweight white muslin, a cream coloured stiff cotton and gesso-coatedContinue reading “The Blues”