picture swaps...

One of the great things about doing art fairs and craft fairs and open house trails and all the other lovely events where artists and makers get together is that sometimes you manage to pull off a fantastic swap.

Over the years I have swopped all kinds of things and I find that the items somehow take on a greater worth than if I had just bought them - two people who both enjoy/value/admire each others work manage to get together and have a sideways conversation (or sometimes a direct ask, but then how awkward is it to say 'No'?  That looks like I don't like your work or think mine is worth lots more or some other difficult scenario) and that leads to decisions about which pieces of work could be equivalent in terms of a swap and just sometimes it all works out really well.

This is my latest swap, with Caroline Watson, who is a painter.  How many tea towels could I give her for a painting?

Luckily for me she has also done a small series of lino prints, so when chatting away at a local arts trail we somehow ended up in full swop mode.

...and how happy we both are with the result.  I hardly ever buy other lino printers work, although there are so many I really, really admire and I would love an example of their work of my own and it is a medium I am so drawn to at every art show...and now I have these fabulous creatures living with me here!

Caroline chose an unframed print of my "Crowds get bigger towards the back" and  seemed equally pleased.

Hurray for picture swaps.  Do have a look at Caroline's paintings too...

cowparsley and prints

Too many holiday days and too much dry weather - I've started ignoring them all and have been printing away as May is a month of deadlines (although I could have done all the work in January if I'd been clever...).

The hedgerows have come to me though and several extravagant bunches of cowparsley have been picked.  I love it, it seems to have been in flower for most of my childhood, and what would look better in any serious flower arrangement?  Coupled with some heavyweights like roses it would add just the right amount of froth.

It does drop bits in my ink though and has now been removed to a safe distance...

I'm printing for the Affordable Art Fair in Bristol later this month and will show you the pictures that are back from the framers soon.