Lapwing linocut

Another linocut experiment, this is a lapwing, a smallish wader/farmland bird.

Printed on 5 by 7" paper, from a block 4 by 6".

Next I decided to try some chine colle - a technique where you add paper (here coloured tissue paper) over which you print the ink.

Had some ink/glue/tissue paper issues, but it adds a nice splash of colour. Of course, as a friend on the Painting Friends forum noted, the coloured tissue paper isn't lightfast so there will be fading issues, something to bear in mind.

I've ordered some more inks (lots more colours to play with, can't wait for them to arrive!) and am going to try a three-colour print using one lino block per colour. Gulp :-)

Out and about again

Hello!

Well, we are finally enjoying some warm weather, and I took the sketchbook out to the (now bare) fields near me here in Cambridgeshire. I enjoyed the late afternoon sunshine while sketching this.

 Watercolour and ink, A4 sketchbook

The sun's still shining today, so I think I may make the most of it and head out again...

Something new, a linocut

Hello!

Well, we've just had a long holiday weekend here in the UK, so I took advantage of a bit of spare time to finally get around to trying a linocut. I bought all the bits and pieces MONTHS ago, but have just never got around to doing anything...

Anyway, here is what I came up with, based on a sketch I did a couple of years ago of my now-departed cat Sophie...

These are 4 by 6 inches, using Schminke water-based inks. This was my first foray into relief printing with linocut, and I'm pleased with the result! I've posted a Work-In-Progress on the Painting Friends forum.

More out and about sketching

Hello!

Some more sketching done out and about...

Both done in the back garden, ink and watercolour...



And this is the bridge in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, drawn from the meadow (I've previously drawn it from the other side). Another ink and watercolour. All clickable for a closer look!

More owls, they're irresistible...

Hello! Here are another couple of owls in line and wash. I absolutely love doing these, and I'm planning to go back to the Raptor Foundation tomorrow (I hope!) to do some more sketching, and to take some more reference photos. In the meantime, here's what I've been up to...

Both 5 by 7" or thereabouts, ink (Pitt pen) and watercolour. Images clickable for a closer look :-)

Fingers crossed for a dry afternoon tomorrow....

From the jaws of disaster...

Here’s what I’ve been up to over the last couple of days. My plan here was a line and wash, an ink sketch with a delicate (I repeat delicate) wash of colour. I’ve been using Faber Castell Pitt pens for my ink sketching, but decided to break out my dip pen for a change, just to see the difference in the line.

All was going well. The line sketch of my dear departed kitty Sophie was looking good; next step was to drop in some water to dampen the surface, followed by some strategic colour…

Aargh... no no no nooo… ink used with dip pen NOT WATERPROOF!! Cue puddles of dirty grey/black water. Yuk.

Oh well, thought I, carry on regardless, go with the flow etc. So, more water applied, ink swished about, and watercolour dropped in for a bit of colour. And do you know what, I actually like the end result. Here it is (5 by 7"):

 

Having got away with it on this one I decided to try the technique in a more, ahem, controlled way. Another Sophie ink and watercolour (5 by 7" again):

 

On this one I did the initial sketch with the (waterproof) Pitt pen, then added some non-waterproof ink in various areas so that I wasn’t quite so overwhelmed. I like the result but not as much as the first disaster-headed effort!

So, have any of you managed to rescue something as seemingly doomed as this to your satisfaction? Would love to hear about it!

An elephant and a jackdaw

Hello :-)

Here are a couple of small ink and wash pieces, clickable as always for a closer view...

First, a jackdaw, 5" by 7", watercolour (just indigo) over an ink sketch (Faber Castell pitt pen), from my own ref photo...

...and another 5" by 7", mostly ink (some unidentified ink from a bottle found at the back of a drawer and splashed about!) with watercolour, over an initial ink sketch, again from my own ref photo from a visit to Twycross Zoo a while back.

I'm enjoying doing the initial ink drawings and finding ways to enhance them with a bit of colour, or introduce a bit of drama with that black ink wash. That's the fun of drawing and painting... endless possibilities...