Small Print International

I recently submitted three prints to the Leicester Print Workshop's Small Print International Exhibition and was fortunate enough to have all three selected.  The prints had to be no larger than 100 square cm, an interesting size to work to.  They also had to be an edition of at least 6 prints, thesse I di as an edition of 8.  They can also be brought online via Leicester Print Workshop. The exhibition will be touring to six different locations around the country during the next year.  A great opportunity to see a range of exciting prints.

Away

Splay

Zenith

 

Printmakers Council at Fifty

Last year the Printmakers Council celebrated its 50^th Anniversary.  I have been a member for the last five years and have been able to participate in a number of exhibitions organised by the group.  Last year to celebrate the anniversary the Council organised a number of events to mark the occasion.

These included the publication of a book, ‘Making an Impression’, an Exhibition at the Bankside Gallery and a mini-print portfolio.  I had a print accepted for the mini-print portfolio (shown below) this was exhibited at the main exhibition and then 2 copies of the edition of 5 were included in presentation portfolios that are now held in the collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The prints all had to be within a 19 by 14 cm image size.

The organising committee worked really hard to activities which helped demonstrate the vibrancy and variety in contemporary printmaking in the UK.

Rise

Open Spaces

Mottisfont Abbey is a National Trust property near Romsey in Hampshire.  A few years ago they converted unused upper rooms into a gallery and since then they have been showing a range of interesting exhibitions.

This month they have an exhibition called Open Spaces, which includes one of my recent larger screenprints.  This is an exhibition of selected works from an open submission, the selectors were, Tim Craven of the Southampton City Art Gallery, Jo Bushnell, the Director of the Aspex Gallery in Portsmouth and Alex Hoare the Arts Development Officer at the Test Valley Borough Council.

So I’m really pleased that one of my works was selected and will be on show from 28^th September – 17^th November.

Further information at Mottisfont Abbey

Imaginary Site I

A Bit of Play Time

Recently I have been experimenting with a new set of screenprints.  Three different drawings, layering over each, in different orientations and different colours.  This is always a fun way to work as such different results can be achieved in a short amount of printing time.

The hard bit is afterwards which are the most interesting results and where to go next.

The photo below shows some of the results in the studio.

Photo: S Eyre

 I then did a montage of them just to see what that would be like.

The Surrey Open Art Competition

The Lightbox in Woking is currently hosting the Surrey Open Art Competition which takes place there every two years.  I am happy to say that my entry, along with those of six other members of Ochre Studios were accepted and are now on display until 13th May.

Just over 60 works were chosen from around 300 entries so the studio has done well so have so many representatives.

The work I entered is below, it is a silkscreen monoprint on canvas.

#799

A Bit Dotty

Hi, I realise it has been a little while since I have written, not for the lack of working probably just the opposite.  It has been a hectic time, working on some large images, trying out a few new ideas and taking part in a wood cut course.  Not to mention a birthday trip to see the David Hockney exhibition at the Royal Academy, definitely worth a visit if you get the chance.

I will return to some of these themes at a later date, but to start with here are some of the new ideas I have been playing with.  I have always been fascinated by playing with visual perception.  How manipulation of lines and shapes can change the feel of the surface.  With my drawings the surface is very one dimensional, but by using printing it is possible to repeat layers, offsetting slightly and that then builds up the image surface creating more dimensions. 

The image show some little experiments with these ideas, currently pinned to the studio wall.  They use both positive and negative versions of the same drawing.  Changing the colours of the image and background and the amount of shift can make a significant difference to the final images.  In the bottom right I tried rotating the basic image between prints and again a whole new feel results. 

This is definitely an area that I will be exploring further.

Happy New Year

A New Year and this week the studio has been fully active again, with new screenprinting and relief printing courses underway.  Preparations are also taking place for an exhibition next month at the Cranleigh Arts Centre. 

After a few weeks off it was good to get back in the studio and carry on working on the monoprints that I have been experimenting with.  In the week before Christmas I had started to print on some canvas.  The differences from paper are subtle but noticeable.  It takes more of the ink than paper but I have found that it is necessary to print a bit firmer because the texture of the canvas means that a light touch results in missed areas.  So it is a fine balance between pushing firm enough to transfer the image, and not too hard resulting in the ink running further than wanted.

The first canvas I tried was quite a coarse weave so I have also tried a finer weave as well which does hold the details better.  The primer on the canvas also seems brighter than the paper I was using so the quality of the colour changes as well.  All of these factors can make quite a difference to the overall print.

Having finished the first couple of prints on the canvas I have also stretched them on to canvas.  The end result is very satisfying as they create an interesting perceptive twist.  The monoprinting style shows that the ink is brushed on, but the actual printing creates a flat surface.  Being on canvas as well then makes it quite hard to see if the image is printed or painted.

I have been working simultaneously on paper and canvas with similar images, I know its hard with a photo but see if you can tell the difference.   Overall I feel the canvas prints are stronger and look forward to trying some on a larger scale.