Happy Birthday Mary

This is my first attempt at a portrait in watercolour, done as a family gift for a special birthday.  I was aiming for that hand tinted, vintage photograph look.  Fingers crossed she likes it.

Analysis Paralysis

It thought it would be a bit of fun to have a piece of my art work made into a t shirt.  I decided to use one of my early monoprints as they are simpler more designed based images.  So without further ado I now reveal the Analysis Paralysis designer t-shirt:

This is the original artwork used:

analysis paralysis 2

New Tree Studies

The art group I attend at the local college is running a study module this term which I’ve opted to participate in.  I’ve decided to take this as an opportunity to develop my recent tree themed studies further.  By the end of the unit I should hopefully have a nice portfolio of tree works in a variety of mediums exploring composition, colour and texture.  Here is my first piece done with the module specifically in mind.

Tree study in watercolour and coloured pencil Sep 2009

Trialling the content 3rd Issue

The third issue of Trialling the Content, a bi monthly magazine published by Alloa Writers, is out now.  The latest Trialling the Content is available in Alloa at the Art Gallery in Gordon McFarlane’s the Jewellers in Mill Street, and The Card Shop in Shilling Hill; across Clackmannanshire through the libraries; and in Stirling through the Toast Café.

I have the priviledge of producing cover artwork for the first 6 issues.  Here is the cover for issue number three:

Trialling the content issue 3

I’m listening to Brandi Carlile’s new album

Although it’s not officially released until the 6th October, you can listen to Give Up the Ghost on Billboard.com right now!  Sweet.

Polychromos, now you’re talking!

It’s a special day for me.  I’ve just bought my first set of Polychromos.  Suffice to say that my other coloured pencils are now retired.  Polychromos really have it all: smooth, rich, creamy, intense and the layering capability is truly incredible.

I think I took the poly part of the name a bit too literally with the number of colours in these sketches but you get the idea!  Colour pencil heaven, oh yeah.

Polytree closeup I (watercolour and colour pencil)

Polytree closeup II (watercolour and coloured pencil)

Polytree (watercolour and colour pencil)

How to make a linocut print

This weekend, I made my first linocut for the Fine Art Printmaking course I’m currently undertaking.  I thought you might like to see how the print was created.

The printing plate is essentially a block of lino with the design carved out using a range of specially designed linocutters.  These are the tools I used:

Lino block and tools

To begin with I drew my design onto the lino using a white chinagraph pencil.  The drawing must be the reverse of the final design required as the print produced will be a mirror image of the block.

I carved out the outline using the smallest cutter before scraping out sections using the larger tools.  The areas cut away do not print - linocut is a negative form of printmaking.

Lino with design cut away

The next step is to apply the ink.  For this you need a roller and a glass plate as well as your chosen ink.  I used a mixture of black and blue water based relief ink for this design.

Preparing the ink

The ink is rolled out thinly onto the glass plate. (Mine is an old reinforced glass chopping board!) This ensures an even coat of ink is spread on the roller for applying to the lino.

inked lino block

The final step is to transfer the image to paper.  If like me, you don’t have a printing press this takes quite a bit of elbow grease.  The lino block is placed face up and the paper placed over the top.  Weight is applied to the back of the paper to transfer the ink.  I use a wooden spoon for this, rubbing it over the back of the paper repeatedly using lots of pressure.  You can peel back a corner of the paper to check if the print is ready.  If areas are still faint, replace the corner and carry on burnishing. 

Here’s one I made earlier:

Final linocut print on white paper

Poetry

I love to explore new creative avenues and have recently been trying my hand at poetry.  I’m hoping to develop this further with a view to incorporating some poetry into my artwork (and vice versa!).

Today I received confirmation that Every Day Poets have accepted my poem Seeds to appear in a future edition. I’ll post further details once the publication date has been confirmed.

ATC Swap

I’m attempting to create some Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) for a forthcoming swap on the Artists Forum.  ATCs are minature artworks (2.5 x 3.5″) and can be produced in any media.  I very rarely work any smaller than A4, so this is quite a challenge.  As a bit of fun, I made a teeny, weeny collage for my first card.  I now plan to try out some very sharp coloured pencils and magnifying glass!

Footie at Elie

Pi Illustration

Further to my original post on the Pi story illustration project, I’ve done a little further experimentation for the first illustration for the story.  The images I’ve created aren’t yet quite as distinctive as I had envisaged, so it’s still a work in progress.  Here are two different trial versions for what would be the opening illustration.

Pi Illustration version 1 (mixed media)

Pi Illustration version 2 (mixed media)

Extract from ‘Memorising Pi to 120 places’ by Gavin Broom:

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 I don’t need to memorise the 3 part, the part to the left of the decimal point. If I did, I wouldn’t be much use at memorising the rest of it. I tell Mum this while she’s cooking dinner because I think it’s really funny.

“That’s nice, Ben,” she says.

I tell her it wasn’t about being nice but I don’t think she hears me.