All Categories

While I Wait for Spring..

16/3/2018

Spring definitely hasn't sprung yet. Two weeks ago snowflakes drifted down from the heavens, and while much of the country ground to a halt, here at least the "Beast from the East" wasn't that beastly. It was very cold though so I hunkered down and got on with another wood engraving. This one is based on a sketch I did last summer of some lovely sunflowers grown by my allotment neighbour's children.

There are a few more bits of clearing here and there that I need to do on the block but overall it's worked out ok. The actual print on Hosho paper is more delicate than the rather dense digital photo so I'm reasonably happy with it.

The "Beast" is forecast to return this weekend so my delicate garden plants, with tender buds just appearing, are covered in fleece and I might just have to crank up the dial on the electric heater and start another print.

Sunflowers on the allotment 90 x 72 mm

Dreaming of hot sunny days...

21/2/2018

An old wooden door

I have a thing about old wooden doors so, while clamped to a heater in my workroom last week trying to ignore the miserable grey skies and cold, I thought of hot sunny days in Palma last year and did this wood engraving. It's based on a sketch I did of the chunky wooden courtyard door at my sister's house.

Sunflower Reworked

Finished Print of Unfurling Sunflower.

Reworking a block is never easy as I work using a magnifying glass (dodgy eyes) so the marks I make tend to be very close together. Opening them up can just result in a mess. With this in mind I tentatively reworked the block to lighten up areas and printed again. It works better now. When viewed from any distance there just wasn't enough definition on the original print and it all looked too dark. I'm finally happy with the print and even happier that I didn't ruin it!

Winter Prints

6/2/2018

Racton Ruin

Sketch for Racton Ruin print

Last summer I trundled up quite a steep hill to look at Racton Ruin in West Sussex. It was a hot day, I was wearing flip flops (silly me) and I did wonder whether it was worth it for a few photos.
The folly was originally built for the 2nd Earl of Halifax, either as a summerhouse or as a place where he could watch his merchant ships docking at Emsworth. Today the crumbling brickwork has lost the flint stones which covered it, the four floors inside the 80 foot tower have gone and it's now covered in graffiti. I made it to the top of the hill eventually and got my photos and ultimately my wood engraving print.

Racton Ruin - wood engraving.

Unfurling

Drawing of sunflower unfurling

I used this drawing I did of a sunflower bursting into life up at my allotment. I'd wanted to try and do a wood engraving based around this and last week I finally got up the nerve to try it out.

Drawing on Lemonwood block and first cuts.

I know it's best to work on a darkend block but I started off by drawing on the block and inking it up. I made a few cuts but then realised I should darken it up with ink if I was going to be able to see the marks I was making so I applied a thin coating of watered down black ink and crossed my fingers that the drawing would stay visible. Luckily it did.

As always I was nervous of taking away too much wood so I made a first proof print which was too dark. I painted over areas to show where I'd want to lighten areas and made more cuts before printing again.

Final print on Hosho paper

The additional cuts to the block did enhance some of the highlights and I got two or three reasonable prints on Hosho japanese paper. But now I've put the block aside for a while. I still think the image is too dark but I want to give myself time to work out how I can lighten some areas to give the print more definition without ruining the whole thing!

It's beginning to feel like winter!

12/12/2017

The heating is on, the nights are drawing in earlier every day and it's been cold, wet and windy with no sign of snow down along this part of the coast. Not my favourite time of year as I really hate the cold and the lack of light..
... but it's a good time to cosy up to a radiator and work on some more prints.

Stedham - 120x70mm

I worked a little more on the Stedham print as I wanted more light and dark on the water. I made myself stop before I cut away too much and am reasonably happy with the result now.

Autumn arrives and the birds leave.

This week I've cut and printed a small lino block. It was a welcome change to work on something larger than a wood engraving block and not to have to use a magnifying glass to see what I'm doing.

High Winds

Seeing strong winds whip up the leaves on the ground in the garden, along with pots and the odd bit of garden furniture, I made a few rough sketches before I started this small wood engraving on a one day course at bip-Art in Brighton in late September. I wanted to explore how to express movement, in this case the wind, in a wood engraving. It was much harder than I imagined!
I didn't manage to finish the block on the day but finally got around to it recently.

Xmas card 2017

There might not be any snow here but I could at least imagine a bit of frolicking in some for my annual xmas card.
Merry Xmas!

A New Press - A New Print

10/11/2017

In September I was excited to find an old nipping press on Ebay at a reasonable price, in relatively good order and fairly close to here so I could collect it.

Then it sat in the boot of my car for several weeks before I got the help of someone stronger than me to carry it into the house! (Thanks Ian.)

It needed a bit of TLC and WD40 to clean off some rust on the base and top plate but an hour or so with some wire wood, fine wet & dry and a little elbow grease and it ready to go.

As I'd almost finished a new wood engraving this week it was good time to test out the press.

I put the inked up block onto a piece of card and carefully laid the paper on top it before placing a piece of felt the top. I didn't want any oil residue or rust to stain the paper and thought the metal top plate might damage the paper.
Finally I slid it all onto the printing base and turned the screw handle down. It was a bit hit and miss to start with, not knowing how much pressure to apply.
My first print was too light and was probably due to lack of ink on the block. The second print was better but there were some areas where the pressure had been uneven. On the third print I lowered and raised the screw several times and even moved the block around to try and get a more even print.
The result was better but in the end I also used my hand burnisher to make sure that ever part of the block printed.
I think that's how it will work best although on much smaller blocks it might not be necessary. We'll see!

Stedham print

Sketch for new wood engraving.

My sketch for the Stedham print.
I'd taken photos on the drive up to collect the press and used one of them for the idea for a new wood engraving.

After printing I clean and dry the block and dust with talc in order to see the tones and marks.

Stedham print produced using the nipping press and hand burnisher. 120 x 70mm

There's clearly a little more work to do on the block but overall I'm happy with the result and with the nipping press!

The Great British Summer!

24/8/2017

I can think of a few choice words to describe the "summer" but they're probably best kept to myself. The early promise (July) of decent weather came and went almost too fast for the media to go bonkers about 'heatwaves' and for people to start complaining about it being too hot.

Suffice it to say I've spent more time indoors, out of the rain, high winds, cold and general gloom, than I wanted to, It's been an opportunity to get on with more wood engravings but I'd rather have had a proper summer. Sigh.. perhaps it'll arrive in September.

I'd made a few first prints from this block, cleaned it off and left it to dry. A rare shaft of sunlight fell on it and it split down the middle!

Nothing I can do about it so I've abandoned it for now. I did curse... it had taken ages to do!

I had a fabulous time in Mallorca for my birthday this year (thanks to my sister and her lovely family).

One of the places we visited was Valdemossa in the Serra de Tramuntana mountains. The Carthusian Monastery had some odd stuff in it - skulls, metal flagellation instruments - those monks were into some weird stuff! The Chopin Museum was interesting and it was lovely and cool in the stone corridors and the inner courtyard. (It was hot in Mallorca!)

From the courtyard garden of the Monastery you could look out across the fields to the mountains. Based around one of my photos I finished this small engraving last weekend on yet another rainy day.
Size is approx 7 x 11 cms.

Happy Days..

27/5/2017

Summer Arrives...

26/5/2017

Yes, it's time for shorts!

The Growing Season is here.. at last.

25/5/2017

Busy making more prints...

15/5/2017

Flowers for Val on her birthday

Something different for Val's birthday print.
It's a small wood engraving measuring
74 x 75 mm.

In the woods

I started this wood engraving a while ago based on part of a sketch I did years ago and finally finished it after lots of putting back in a drawer and bringing it out again because I wasn't sure how to complete it. I might have another attempt and include the rest of the drawing but only once I've worked out how to engrave running water! (126 x 66mm)

Lighthouse on the hill

My latest wood engraving. Based on a photo I took on the last trip out with my mother when we visited the Towner Gallery before a slow drive home along the coast, stopping off to admire the views. We laughed at the fact that neither of us wanted to trek up the steep hill to see the lighthouse so Joan told me to take a photo instead - and I did. (116mm x 71mm)

<<Previous