Tag Archives: woodcut

Here Be Dragons At The Barbican, London

A free arts festival at London’s Barbican Centre on Saturday February 23rd from 12 noon to 8pm. My work, “Here Be Dragons” will be featured alongside many other artworks commissioned by the TV channel Sky Arts for their ART50 project about post-Brexit Britain. I did this humungous woodcut print with chine collé inspired by theContinue reading “Here Be Dragons At The Barbican, London”

The First Cut

  The first cuts, carving my new woodblock (MDF), removing the bits to remain white. I’m using the smallest gouge from my Flexcut carving tool set and it’s going to take me ages at this rate, so I might rethink things a bit.

Getting Ready To Carve

I carried on preparing a sheet of MDF for my next woodcut. After I’d reversed my original drawing and traced it onto the wood, I painted in the different colours that I need to cut away. It’s a reduction print, often called the “suicide” method by printmakers as the process results in the complete destructionContinue reading “Getting Ready To Carve”

In At The Start

So I’m thinking of doing some more large woodcuts in the new year, inspired by my drawings of the Mari Lwyd and Neolithic stone monuments in South Wales. I’ve done a lot of work on both of these so there’s plenty to inform anything I do. I begin by making little thumbnail sketches, lots ofContinue reading “In At The Start”

The Re-Cut

During the process of developing my recent commission for Sky Arts TV channel, as part of their Art50 programming, I did a number of test blocks to try out different combinations of wood, sealer, ink and paper to find the combo that worked best. It also gave me a chance to experiment with the carving,Continue reading “The Re-Cut”

And Breathe!

So, after two and a half months of research, preparation, creative blocks, blood, sweat and a lot of hard work, I finally finished carving my very large block of wood and did the first print. And breathe! The block has been sealed with three coats of shellac and methylated spirits (mixed 50:50) and I amContinue reading “And Breathe!”

Drawing Blood!

I draw lots of things. Today I drew blood! I’m back to reality after our short break to Italy and cracking on with carving my large woodcut (80 x 120 cms), a commission from Sky Arts TV channel. One of the occupational hazards of carving blocks for relief printing is the razor sharp tools thatContinue reading “Drawing Blood!”

It’s All A Bit Zen.

  The carving begins! The final drawing has been transferred in reverse onto the MDF block in compressed charcoal. Then I redrew everything with a brush and walnut ink. And now I’m cutting. After all the rush and stress of the past few weeks, it feels a bit Zen to quietly carve into the wood,Continue reading “It’s All A Bit Zen.”

Getting On With It

I’m on the last leg now with “Here Be Dragons”, my commission for Sky Arts, getting my final design transferred into a large sheet of MDF. I’m back in my studio at home, with Helen Finney’s portrait of me looking down as I work.   I transferred it using detail paper, that had a tracingContinue reading “Getting On With It”