Lino Printing Workshop

A couple of months ago, I had a go at lino printing for the first time - apart from school attempts on rock hard, scratchy lino that left your fingers bleeding!

I attended a workshop run by printmaker Janice Earley. Janice is a great teacher, she takes you right through each step, demonstrating and encouraging you along the way. It was a very different working process for me so I had to feel the fear and do it anyway. She was very patient as I fiddled around with my design before committing it to the lino - I realise now you can make changes along the way.

I chose to do a 2 colour design so the first step is to cut away anything you want left white. I printed the first colour in a pale blue.

 

I made the mistake of drawing my design in red biro which printed out as well - you can just make it out. Hey, I'm learning.

More cutting, leaving only the areas that you want printed in the darker colour. I tried a dark grey first but at Janice's suggestion switched to a dark blue which gave the finished print a much warmer look.

I really enjoyed it and would thoroughly recommend one of Janice's courses. I learnt loads and only wish I had more time to do more printing.

Coastal Designs

This year is already slipping by so fast. As my two boys get older, in some ways their demands are greater than when they were small. School projects and weekend activities seem to take over your life.

However, I have penciled in 5 or 6 Summer Art fairs as well as the Guernsey Arts Festival so the creative wheel must keep turning! Here's a peek at some new designs I'm working on for a set of new coastal inspired cards. Right, back to working on the rest!

Elizabeth College Workshop

Way back in 2014 (!) I held a series of workshops at Elizabeth College with a group of Yr 7 boys - I blogged about the process and creating collage papers here .

Well, here are some pictures that I took during the workshops and some of the end results.

I loved making those collage papers - and I think the boys did too judging by how many they created. I hope to use some of the textures in my own future work.

Visit Guernsey

Phew! last post May? How did that happen, I guess it's been a busy year...

A quick post showing some of the illustrations I did for the Visit Guernsey brochure earlier this year, which is out now for 2015. Tote bags to follow...

Collage Seagull

I created this seagull illustration yesterday using the collage papers from a couple of weeks ago. It was actually great to get away from the computer for a change with pleasing results too. I may explore this method further in the future...

 

I really like Mark Hearld's illustrations below. He creates layers on acetate then lays them on top of each other to get the finished piece. A bit like real-life Photoshop, which I can see would give you greater flexibility to make changes and try different things out.

May Day

What a lovely idea that I got from Little Green Shed. Create a simple jar of flowers picked from the hedgerow or your garden and hang anonymously on a friends door as a sign of Summer on its way. A pagan tradition apparently - I like it! Let's do this all the time as the seasons change.

collage papers 2

Have been creating some more collage papers today.

The way I do it is to paint onto a styro-foam sheet with a mixture of watercolor and acrylic paint, then press the paper on top and rub gently all over the paper to transfer the paint. This is done several times to build up layers of texture. This stuff is really addictive!

For the print below, I built up several layers of paint first, then on the last print I drew into the paint with a cotton bud before transferring the image to my paper. It reminds me of fossils.

collage papers

I have gone collage paper mad whilst preparing for a workshop inspired by Eric Carle's technique of illustrations made from painted tissue paper.

It's really addictive - try it! This green one is my favourite.

cliff walk

Glorious walk along the cliff path around Saint's Bay this morning. The blackthorn was out in full bloom and in places it formed a canopy over the path. The scent of the gorse was divine, like coconut. I never paint landscapes but these views have truly inspired me today, might have to get the brushes out. Long may the sun shine!

seabirds

Sketching up some different seabirds at the moment and trying out some ideas for new card designs. I love drawing birds and am particularly drawn to seabirds what with living by the sea so was very sad to hear recently about all the seabirds that have suffered during our recent terrible weather. No doubt puffins will be making an appearance in this new set of illustrations.

lantern parade

The Lantern Parade a couple of weeks ago was so awesome. Hundreds of people turned out to watch the drumming group SPARK! who whipped us all into mass hysteria with their fantastic show. We're all hoping they come back next year. My snap shots hardly do them any justice but here they are anyway!

lantern workshop

Helped out with making lanterns at St Martins' school last week in preparation for the Lantern Parade organised by Guernsey Arts Commission that's taking place on 1st March. Can't wait, it's going to be beautiful.

st peter port

Finally finished my illustrated map of St Peter Port. Just don't use it to try and find your way around!

lichen

Went for a very breezy walk along the headland this morning. While the boys explored the German bunkers, I found these rather lovely lichens growing on the rocks. Love the vivid yellow - amazing!

hand drawn typography

Managed to pull myself together after the Christmas break to enter the Tigerprint 'Hand drawn typography' competition.

new prints

Two new illustrations added to my art print collection.