Faces Everywhere!

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If you’d asked me to draw a picture of Bacchus (Roman god of wine and pleasure – originally of fertility) I’m not sure what it would have come out like, but this face is taken directly from a knotty lump on a tree in Clifton Park, Rotherham, that just shouted out “Face!” at me! I quickly drew it, cut and printed it, only then realising that it was exactly how I imagine the god Bacchus to look – bucolic, laughing and with an ever-so-slightly manic look in his eyes. I usually try my very best to not have the surrounding background ‘chatter’ or ‘noise’ in a print, but on this occasion felt it somehow added to the laughter emanating from his face.

Skater Girl

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A one-off print for a very special little girl’s third birthday. She is already skating and loves being on the ice. The colour has been chosen specifically as it has a link to her name – other colours are available!

Castlerigg Stone Circle

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I’ve been wanting to make a print of this for some time now. It is taken from an original photograph of mine, which was taken early one morning at the site, high up on the hills near Keswick in the Lake District. It is a very beautiful place and can often be quite busy, but get there early and you can have the place all to yourself, as we did on this occasion. I tried to keep the print simple, focusing on the actual stones rather than the surrounding hills. The colours are nothing like representative of what is there, but I’m pretty happy with the result.

Busy, Busy, Busy

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I have been neglecting my blogging duties lately, mainly because I have been desperately trying to get various ideas out of my head and onto paper! The first two images shown were inspired by a visit to St Peter’s Church in Conisbrough; one of the oldest buildings in South Yorkshire. This visit had been inspired by reading the book “South Yorkshire Folk Tales” which mentions what is thought to be either a Viking or Saxon tomb cover that can be seen inside the church. The stone is carved with what appears to be a figure, possibly St George, defending a cowering Bishop from a dragon. I took the theme and researched examples of knights, bishops and dragons depicted in Medieval art to make a composite image. The smaller “face” print is a two dimensional representation of a carving to be found on one end of the same tomb cover.

We spent some of the Summer holidays in Northumberland and on the East coast of Yorkshire. I took photographs of images I already had prepared in my head (from previous visits to these places) to produce the prints of Lindisfarne Castle and a couple of small fishing boats in the harbour at Staithes near Whitby. I also have a couple more prints ready to go when I get a lull (haha!) You see, I can’t even switch my mind off when I go on holiday! I am currently working on three images, one at the carving stage, one at the inking stage and one at the initial drawing stage.

Wistman’s Wood

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Another two block, reduction print, but this time using Ternes Burton registration pins – a world of difference and how on earth I managed before, I really don’t know! This is the first time ever that I have started on a print run of ten and ended up with ten good prints – hurray! The image is of Wistman’s Wood, a particularly twisted and tangled woodland in Dartmoor, in places so dense that it is almost impossible to get through. Everything there seems to be green – the mossy stones, the leaves, the tree trunks – hence the overall green colour of the print.

A Stranger Raven

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This is the latest image from my series inspired by the children’s novel, “A Stranger Came Ashore” by Mollie Hunter. In this, the finale, Robbie is standing on the edge of a ‘voe’ (a bay or inlet in the Shetlands) about to be beaten by The Great Selkie when, as promised, his school teacher Yarl Corbie appears in his ‘other’ magical form as a gigantic Raven, and attacks the Selkie, gouging out his eyes and sending him off into the ocean, never to entice the young girls into his underwater palace again.

This was quite a tricky reduction print, using two blocks and a lot of fingers-crossed guesswork! I did also cut a larger (A4) version of the raven to be printed independently.

Tools of My Other Trade

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Ordinarily, my job as a musician runs alongside my work as a visual artist. However, these are not ordinary times and, as such, I haven’t been able to perform with the band for almost a year now. In light of this, I decided to try and get ‘close’ to my instruments again and represent them in a lino print. This is the result – intentionally black and white and intentionally simple. I do play guitar as well but another instrument would have affected the balance of the image.

Little Mester

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Possibly the most abiding memory of this current pandemic for me, is just what utter disregard the London-based politicians, particularly Boris Johnson and the Tory party, have for the people in the North of England. All data and apparent reactions to data are clearly based on the South (London of course) and the Home Counties, and us Northerners can effectively go to hell! I have always been quite pleased that I am a Yorkshireman and was born and brought up in Sheffield, but this has all served to make me positively proud of those facts. This picture is a result of that feeling. I am descended from a long line of Scissor Makers and cutlers based in Sheffield, where many of them were known as ‘Little Mesters’ – independent craftsmen in small workshops throughout the town. There are a number of Cadman Streets and Cadman Lanes (my surname) named after my ancestors. This design was adapted from a couple of the sculptures on the front of The White Building in Fitzalan Square which is in the town centre.

‘Mester’ is the way a typical Sheffield would pronounce the word ‘Mister’.

Opportunity is Often Missed

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Whilst recently reading Neil Oliver’s book, “Wisdom of the Ancients”, one of the quotations that particularly stood out to me was about how “opportunity is often missed, as it comes wearing overalls and involves hard work.” It immediately made me think about the old Russian propaganda posters showing strong men and women, working for the good of the Communist state. The sentiment struck a particular chord with me, reminding me of the very first lecture of my art course at university (The College of Ripon and York St John) where we were told by Keith Martin (bless him), in no uncertain terms, that there would be no time for ‘artistic temperament’ and that we would be expected to come in every day and work hard – art is hard work! Whether it was because of that, or because of the work ethic instilled in me by my parents, I have always believed that if you want to achieve anything, in any field, talent alone is not enough – hard work is also a necessity.

I am very pleased with the way this print has come out – I like the strength and energy.

Spring Heeled Jack – Again

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I was never 100% happy with the original version of my Spring Heeled Jack print, mainly with the head and face – it just didn’t look as I’d imagined it. After a number of variations, I settled on the one shown here, using the goat-head often seen in folklore. I also decided to make a feature of the background, bringing the Victorian legend up-to-date by showing the modern-day Sheffield skyline behind the iconic shape of the Cholera Monument. It was done as a two block reduction print and whilst it’s not technically perfect, I’m pretty happy with the overall atmosphere.