Summer Lino Printing Workshop in Bristol

It's workshop time!

Always exciting - if you are based in Bristol then pop 18th August in your diary - Nature inspired lino printing...


Everything you need provided, including a lot of nature finds as inspiration - no previous experience or arty skills needed - we will print the designs onto cards, bunting, stationary and fancy printing paper - here is the link if you fancy booking in

Puffin lino print - work in progress

Starting to plan a big flock of Puffins...
Smaller flocks will also be printed - I am just going to have a warm-up session of Puffin lino cutting to see how they come out before going for the huge one!

I went to see Puffins on the Farne Isles in June and it was amazing, totally overwhelming to spend an hour on their island and watch and draw them.  It was too early for Pufflings but the parents were busy.

I am trying to show their brilliant flappy flight in the way I draw them, so hopefully that will work out too as the drawing progresses....

I always draw my designs out on paper first before l transfer it to the lino block using tracing paper.  It can take a while for a large lino block but I love drawing so would hate to miss that stage out.  I know some people draw straight onto the block or just carve, but that is not for me!

Lino cut print - Lots of Crows and a Sparrow

Close up of all the crows...

A proof print of the crows lino print.

 The original 15 Crows lino print, which is still one of my faves...

This week I have been up to my printers elbows in Crows as I have started editioning my new lino print 'Lots of Crows and a Sparrow'.  It has gone really well, despite making it hard for myself by taping an extra piece of lino onto the block so that I could add an extra bit of crow that didn't quite fit on.  This means that each time I hand burnish a print I have to check that the crow is lined up properly and flat with the main block...the original piece of lino seemed quite big, but was not big enough.  Lesson learned.

Beetle lino prints

For the last couple of years I have been drawing in our local Museums Natural History department whenever I get the chance.   The collections there are huge, varied and really inspiring.  Drawing the birds is my usual habit, but recently the curator had beetles out and I couldn't resist spending an afternoon drawing those too.

I found them tricky, I am no expert on beetle anatomy and they have so many parts - legs, antennae, etc that have to be in the right place.  My drawings would never be any use as an identifying guide but I had so much fun making them and learnt a lot too.

I couldn't resist making some lino prints from the drawings - keeping the slightly misplaced legs and wobbly lines where they were in my original drawing and using the scientific labels as part of the design.

Carving the lino block was tricky as I couldn't mis-cut anything - all those letters and legs!  It worked though, all in place and so in this picture you can see me peeling back the paper from one of the first prints I burnished from the block - success.

Hopefully this will become part of a small series of lino prints as it was great to work on.

New Dog lino print and Featured Maker on Folksy

Here is  a new lino print, freshly printed - Dog Disco

My sketchbooks are filled with dogs so it was only a matter of time before they all got together and had a party and here they all are.

This lino print was also great fun to cut out - all those twirly bits on the string of lights... but then I am happy cutting out lino prints anyway, however twirly.

The image happened during a weekend at an Art Fair - they had amazing twirly lights along the beams which I doodled all over my sketchbook and then I started drawing all the dogs who were visiting the Fair.  It was a particularly popular one for dogs and some very fine hounds stopped to say hello which was fun.  Somehow the dogs and the bright lights got mixed up together on the page and before I knew it the idea for Dog Disco had arrived.

I have popped it into my Folksy shop and right now I am their Featured Maker which is exciting - so to celebrate I have done one of those money off things.  Type in PIGEONPARADE15 as you go through the checkout bit and you get 15% off (until 9th June 2019) - hurrah!

Bristol Craft and Flea

Is three days notice enough?  I am going to be at the Craft and Flea in Bristol on Bank Holiday and it would be so great if you came along to say "Hello"!

I will have lots of my lino prints of course as well as lots of Bristol themed goodies - tote bags, mugs, cards and so on - I am so excited, having seen the exhibitor list it is going to be amazing fun.

New Three Hares lino print

I've just had a jolly old time making this big hares lino print!

My 'Line of Hares' (the smaller print) has been really popular and I have loved printing it, so I decided to play around with the scale a bit.  I'm so happy with the result as well.  I think of them as 'big' because I am so used to seeing my usual quintet, but they are actually about 16 cm high.  With so much more black in the image they are a little harder to print as i am still hand burnishing them, but definitely worth it.