Feeding the swans

Here's a sneak peek at a print I've done for the first PrintPeople exchange... Can't wait to see what all the other (very talented) printmakers have done!

It's a reduction linocut, an edition of 18 on Japanese Simili paper, of which the first 12 are on their way to the US for the exchange.

My inspiration came from watching the swans in St Ives, Cambridgeshire - there are lots on the river in town, where they get regularly fed. I took a photo from the bridge, as the white swans on the dark water looked really striking... swan-shaped space...



I then sketched some of the swan shapes...

 And put them together into a pleasing (I hope!) arrangement...

 

This is what I traced down onto the lino, carving away the white areas first and printing the grey colour, then carving away everything else but the black.

This was enormous fun - I think I might do a few variations on this theme!

Out and about

Spent a nice hour or so yesterday up by one of the ponds in the village, sketching. Actually got a tiny bit sunburnt! I'm hoping to base a linocut on this sometime.

 A4 sketchbook, Pitt pen and watercolour.

Bleak and beautiful

A last look at winter - you were bleak and beautiful, but you hung around for far too long!

 Ink and watercolour, A4 size.

Looking forward to warmer sunnier days!

New and exciting (for me anyway!)

At last, I've got around to it and set up an online store, at Folksy. You can find bits and pieces by me for sale at Sharon's Pics on Folksy.

At the mo we have:

More to follow!

A little linocut

Here's what I've been up to over the past few days (struggling a bit with a sore wrist too)

Prints are just less than 4 inches square, and I'm using them on little square cards.

Hope you like them, I think they're sweet!

Autumn's Garden

Here's the painting I've been working on for my niece's nursery, finally finished, varnished and delivered!

 And some details:

Acrylic on canvas, 20 by 30", the same size (and in the same style) as the painting I did for my nephew, James's Jungle. Such good fun to plan and paint, it has a lovely storybook feel to it, I think!