Tag: art

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.

Avebury Magic

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For some time now, I have been wanting to make a print of the magical stones to be found at the World Heritage Site of Avebury – one of the biggest stone circles in Europe. Having tried (and failed miserably) to do a collagraph print, I settled back on a lino cut. However, this time I used sponges rather than rollers to apply the inks to give it more of a textured finish. Whilst there are undoubtedly some flaws evident, I am generally very pleased with the finished result; there is a very graphic quality to the image but that reflects my drawing style, which has always ended up with quite well-defined, thick lines, even when I try not to!

A Place To Rest

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Having come to the end of their time in the chapel at Wentworth Woodhouse, I was delighted to be asked if I would consider placing them in the ‘Forest Classroom’ at St Thomas’ Primary School in Rotherham. Of course I agreed, and spent a wet morning positioning them appropriately. It was quickly apparent that this was where they truly belonged; nestled amongst the trees and bushes, enhanced by, and enhancing the natural setting. I realise that, being made from MDF, the panels probably won’t last very long before rotting, but that too seems an appropriate end to their life.

One of Many Time Again

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The time has come around again for the #oneofmanypostcard initiative. Here is my contribution – a limited edition of 20 postcard-sized prints that are free to anyone wishing to have one, on the understanding that the receiver makes a donation to a charity of their choice. The prints are actually an abstraction from a Green Man face, but I have been told they look like either courgettes or melons so take it as you will. If you would like one of the cards, please email your address to: grooveware.art@gmail.com and I’ll get one in the post asap.

Lockdown Exhibition

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Having no other place to exhibit my work during lockdown (apart from online, but that doesn’t really count) I have been displaying cards showing my Green Man design, on trees and gate-posts at various places, whilst out on our daily walks. Despite being in Rotherham, we’re very fortunate to live near fields and woodlands in Wickersley, Rotherham, so the environment is, I feel, fitting for these cards. Although there is the opportunity for feedback (I put my email address on the back) no-one has been in touch – I didn’t really think they would – but at least two of them have been taken, so they are being seen. I’ll never know whether they were taken by people wanting to own the card, or by kids trashing them but either way, they are being interacted with!

Shout – It’s a Card!

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A project conceived some time ago, I finally got around to printing this image as a greeting card, complete with hand-cut type. The design is a lino-cut based as closely as possible on the patterns created by inking up an origami face – seen in an earlier post. I have been asked if anyone would want a card that says ‘Shout!’ but I think it is appropriate for any occasion: shout “Hurray it’s your birthday!”, shout “Congratulations on your new job”, shout “It’s a Boy!” and so on – the possibilities are endless, it just depends what message you choose to write inside.

Origami Green Man

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In an idle moment (tea break) during the cutting of the grotesques design, I was toying with the idea of representing various gargoyles and church figures using Origami. Having made the form for a basic face, I decided to see how it would print if I just ran a roller over it before pressing it onto paper. I was really quite taken with the resulting image but it needed a mouth! This was added afterwards using a piece of lino with teeth and lips carved into it. When I get another idle moment, I’m sure I will pursue this idea further! Watch this space…

Loose Ends?

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I do feel I am now tying up a few loose ends with the Green Man theme. I am really happy with the way the digital drawings turned out, but still need to complete a Lino-cut I started some time ago. Whilst undoubtedly it will not match the precision of the digital work, it will have a certain “workman-like” quality to it, with all the little flaws and imperfections that a “real” print has. I’m pleased with it so far – let’s see how it turns out!