Song Thrushes and Tiny Birds - lino prints

Spring is in the air and so i have been making a few new lino prints - the mini-print is called 'Crowd of Tiny Birds' and it's slightly larger friend is 'Song Thrushes'. With all of the Spring activity, nest building, dawn sing songs etc it is hard to make lino prints of anything but birds at the moment and I usually only need the smallest of excuses anyway. Both of these new prints are now listed in my online shop here - and a few others are being carved at the moment too :)

Lino Prints for sale - and Artist Support Pledge news...

Three Foxes at the Disco - lino Print

Lino Prints for Sale

Thanks so much to everyone who has been browsing and buying my lino prints via Etsy and Folksy - it has been fantastic to be able to send them out by using our local Parcel Post Box and know that they are turning up at front doors around the world!  I can't offer any Tracking services at the moment, but everything has made it through so far (with a little patience as shipping times are now longer than we are all used to).

It has been fab to be able to send lino prints directly to people with birthdays or who need a bit of dancing animal cheer too - so I have been writing cards with messages from the sender too...sometimes cryptic, sometimes just really lovely...in a little hand printed card.  What fun.

Artist Support Pledge 

Artists Support Pledge is a great initiative that has been set up recently by Matthew Burrows (mostly on Instagram) which is well worth taking a look at if you are interest in art and craft and want to discover some amazing artists from around the world...and maybe even make a purchase!  I have made a couple...

The idea is to help artists and makers replace the income that is being lost due to the current shut down of art galleries, art fairs, makers markets and also lots of art and craft teaching that artists usually undertake.  Artists pledge works for sale for up to £200 $200 etc and when they have reached £1000 $1000 in sales they pledge to spend £200 $200 themselves on another artists work.  It is creating a small but really dynamic art market and helping lots of creatives get through this tough time.

I have been lucky enough to make sales through the initiative and also therefore some purchases to help other makers navigate this tricky period - really worth taking a look, even if you aren't in position to buy anything as there is some really inspiring work being pledged.

Ink Paper + Print at the Towner Gallery

I am so excited to be heading off to Ink Paper + Print on 21-22nd September - being held at the Towner Gallery  in Eastbourne the line up of illustrators, print makers and artists is amazing (and me, gulp!)

I will bring along my usual basket of lino prints, including a few new ones - like these Baby Tapirs - and also tea towels, tote bags, fabric, handmade purses and lampshades - would be lovely to say hello if you are passing by.

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.

Projects, lino cutting, print drawers

I've had a lovely couple of weeks lino cutting - a tricky map showing bird migration routes for a book, some more museum bird specimens and a couple of test blocks to try using with different inks. Ive been printing in copper and gold for a while, but really want to try out some different ink/paper combinations so I have been collecting papers ready - should be a fun experiment!

I've also had a great clear out/rummage through my print drawers, which meant I uncovered this little goat - one of my favourites.  It is definitely Spring Cleaning season around here.
My little goat lino print is hanging out in my Etsy shop if you want to pop over :)

Lie On the Ground - lino cut print

A new lino print  One that has been simmering for quite a while now and has finally made it onto paper.  It has a friend too, but that one is still in a sketchbook.  I've popped it into my Etsy shop too :)

I was also pleased to carve all those little words without mishap - that doesn't always happen!

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.

Flocks of birds

As the dark evenings continue my flocks of birds are getting bigger...

There is a direct connection!

I'm really happy to stay in with some jolly tunes on my radiogram, a lino cutting tool or two and a sketchbook filled with summertime doodles...

displacement activities

I'm busy carving out a big lino block at the moment (big by my standards, not 4 meters square or anything astonishing like that) and so I am on the lookout for other things to do instead...like carving other smaller bits of lino.

This is a little picture of Bath (but you'll have to look at it in a mirror at the moment) which I am not going to print until I have finished the big lino block, even though I'm itching to see how it looks and think a bit of tweaking may be needed in the area in front of the Abbey...

come on February!

It's sooooo gloomy - but look, a tiny burst of sunshine crossed my drawing table.  I captured it in this blurry photo and plan to look at regularly for the rest of the week...

February has been a month of mega-germs for us, but being housebound for a whole month has meant a lot of drawing and making and thinking about drawing and making in between all the shivering and lying around.

Now I'm doing a lovely commission for a small town in Gloucestershire - I find cutting out lino churches very satisfying (almost as good as the cake from their farm shop which kept me going when I visited for a local tour)  and hopefully when all is finished a few locals will be able tell it's their town!

Now we just need some big sunshine to get everyone moving again...

Dancing in the New Year

I've really enjoyed myself so far this year, but I am so very easily pleased!
New lino cutting tools for Christmas - yipee.

I'm trying to go slow in January, but it's not really working because I've spent the last few weeks thinking "I'll do that in January..." and now the list is long - all good things like days out in Bath and London and sitting on the sofa with a book and not moving until it is finished - far too much for one month.  Maybe I'll have a go slow season instead.

Above is a new little print that I made over Christmas 'Mini Cat Ballet'.  It's going to have a bigger friend soon too because now I can't stop drawing cats doing ballet...