Wagtails - lino cut print

A new mini-print to add to my growing selection of bird lino prints - Wagtails These birds are always a joy to watch and I have a pair living just in front of my house so I had to draw them. The sketches have evolved into this little lino print, with the Wagtails bobbing and rushing around, ever busy as in real life! This lino block printed really well too, and it was a satisying print to start editioning with all those little birds being revealed each time. In my online shop just HERE if you would like to see any more details...

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.

Owl lino prints

I have been busy proofing a lino block of owls, drawn from the Natural Science collection at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.  They have an amazingly interesting and varied collection of specimens and it has been a real privilege to be allowed into the stores to draw them.

This block took a while to carve as I wanted to keep the 'drawn' feel of the original whilst turning it into a lino print - all the lines and no tone, a bit of a leap of faith that all the cutting out would pay off, but I am pleased with how it has come out.  Next stage is to print it in gold on lovely black Stonehenge paper which will change how it looks all over again...

Two Swans

Spring is so nearly in the air...
Time to gather up a huge pile of nesting material swans.  Last year we spent a bit of time watching a swans nest near to where we live and now, months later, I have finally got round to making a lino print of it  It's hanging out on Folksy too in my little shop, if you would like to visit :)

Printing copper birds

With copper ink rolled out for another project I had to have a little play around and these birds were very keen to be printed in copper - how could I say no?

Lots of birds feathers have a beautiful sheen to them, often almost metallic so it seems like the right ink to use...

Now I want to try all the other lino blocks I have in 'shiny' too!

Flocks

Such a great time of year here, when all the birds start flying in for winter!  Geese are back :)  Time for the starlings to go, but they are still here, lining up on the roof top chittering and chattering...

I need to restock some of my prints and it would be great to do it this week ready for a break and a pause, but maybe the pause has started already!  See you in 2017.

Pecking - lino print

Well here is a little lino print I had a lot of fun doing...

Birds - tick

Pecking birds - tick

Whole flock of them - tick

I'm going to have to put it in my Folksy and Etsy shops right away :)  Race you there...

Black headed gulls

It's so definitely time to get to the beach everyone - these Black headed Gulls Beachcombing have got exactly the right idea :)

Three new lino prints..

....well, new to you - in my totally driven state of achieving at least 100 hours of solid lino cutting every single week I often forget that I have got a pile of new images that no one else has seen yet...

These have been seen by a few people who dwell in the real world though, and some people who flit around on Twitter will have seen corners and bits of lino blocks, but now they are here too, in blog world for you to see.

Wet Sparrow
Flock & Cat
Lots of Birds in Pyjamas

These are quite big (by my own personal scale of big, which finishes at 45 cm) and if I produce any that are even bigger I will have to start hand delivering them to galleries and customers....


I'm planning to lino cut a puffin looking out at an immense stormy sea for the rest of the month, should keep me mentally occupied for the remainder of February!!

Leeds Print Festival 2015

Some of my lino prints are heading off to the Leeds Print Festival this week, including this huge flock  of swallows.   They are going to be at the Leeds Gallery, Munro House if you are near by.

It's taken me ages to get them all into their pyjamas, they are such a twittery, flittery lot but finally they are packed and ready to go, wearing a mixture of floral, stripes, pacman and some very trendy triangles.

Really excited to be following along after them, but I'll have to wait until the end of the month as the postman won't take me, and actually my pyjamas are a little shabby in comparison (hmm, should I wear my PJs to the Print Festival so that everyone knows that I belong to my work?  *wanders off pondering....*)

A flock of pigeons

I love doing lino prints of big flocks of birds!  Crows, starlings, swallows, fish ( I know they aren't birds, but a lino print of a shoal of fish crept up on me...) and now pigeons.  Yay!

These feathery friends seemed to take all summer to cut out, but in reality they were all waiting patiently for me whilst I got distracted by sunshine, seaside and some really interesting beetles in the back garden.

Now they are editioned and cooing their way off to galleries and internet land most happily (and flappily).