Michael: London linocut, stage 1

I've printed the first colours on the new big linocut.



A blend from pale blue through grey to dark grey. Already, some of the image starts to appear.

But wait! Where did those red lines at the top come from?



Usually, I use a black Sharpie to draw the image on the block. (Black Sharpie is truly permanent; other so-called permanent markers fade when you clean the linoblock after printing.) But I had to use a different colour to sort out a mess of drawing.

Now it turns out that the red Sharpie I used doesn't dry properly on lino... In fact, it prints!

I ran the block through the press several times, printing onto scrap paper; this got rid of the worst of the Sharpie ink. I just have to hope that what's printed onto the paper here will disappear under the further layers of ink.

Michael: Wilmington linocut

While work continues on cutting that big new linoblock, here's another print that I just completed.

1 Printing the first layer: a blue to pink-brown blend.





2 Printing the second layer. A slightly darker blue to green blend over the top of the first layer.



The distant fields and buildings start to appear.

3 There's a third layer here, but I forgot to photograph it. It has a blend of transparent blue-green at the top to slightly brighter and thicker version of the same colour at the bottom.

4 A dark green layer adds more definition to the mid-distance (I like how the buildings appear from out of the trees), and some shadows to the foreground.





5 A darker-still layer of green on the bottom half of the picture, and it's finished.



Wilmington. Linocut, 10 x 10 cm.

This is a view of the village of Wilmington, East Sussex, looking north from the path that leads to the Long Man ("It's behind you!").

Michael: Starting a new print

Starting work on another big (30 x 24cm) print; another detailed cityscape.




Just drawing the image took about six hours. See that confusion of lines at the top right? I drew the tower in pencil, and then went over it in black Sharpie. Then realised I'd drawn it wrong. Sharpie can't be erased.

So I redrew the tower on paper; transferred it to the block (the yellow is the transfer powder); and drew it again in red Sharpie.

Oh, that's going to be so much fun to make sense of when I cut that area.



I've started cutting the block. Slowly.

Michael: Ashdown Forest IV, final stage

Finally, a dark layer just at the top of the image creates the tree trunks.



Light through trees, Ashdown Forest. Linocut, 10x10cm.

Michael: Ashdown Forest IV, stage 2

A second layer, in slightly darker colours than the first, adds more definition to the trees and bracken.

Michael: Ashdown Forest IV, stage 1

Light through trees: a blend from red to green starts a new print.

Michael: Hands, feet, and toes

Life drawing again.







Pencil on paper; sketchbook pages.

Several things going on here: I'm learning how to use cross-hatching to create tone and volume, and I'm using two grades of pencil to add more variety to the marks. (The pencils are HB and 2B -- or it might be a 4B; it's so old and well-used that the legend has long ago worn off.) In the last picture, I created the background with cross-hatching, and then softened it with a putty rubber.

Richard - Latest Life Class

I've been somewhat remiss at posting here in recent weeks, so here are some pictures from last Saturday's life class (the same as Sheri's picture in the previous post). I started off by drawing in ink and charcoal, then fixed this before painting in acrylic.

And then the 'final' result ...

Sheri - latest portrait

I said a fond farewell to life drawing on Saturday. Ironically, I really enjoyed the session, doing a nice loose portrait in oils. I know it needs a bit of work here and there but I enjoyed pushing the paint around to get a likeness. It's been a while since I did a portrait in class.

Sheri - little landscapes

I've really been enjoying doing landscapes lately. Here are the two tiny ones I finished at LRG recently, both about 3x3 inches. The first is a bluebell wood, from Brown's wood East Grinstead, the second is from Ashdown Forest.

Michael: Ashdown Forest linocut III

Prints are coming off the press so fast, there hasn't been time to update the blog. Here's one of the new prints:

1 I cut the highlights from the block, and then I print it with a blend from light green to light red brown.





2 Next, I apply a darker blend of the same colours. Each layer takes 24 hours to dry before you can apply the next layer.





3 A darker layer in transparent blue creates some of the shadows.



4 Finally, a dark blue-black completes the image.


Ashdown Forest. Reduction linocut, 10 x 10cm.

Michael: Rotten Row, Lewes - final stage

Third and final stage.


Rotten Row, Lewes. Four stage reduction linocut, 10 x 10 cm.

Having found in other prints that a final layer in pure black can ruin the print, I mixed a dark colour from the colours that I had already used in the print: cobalt blue, scarlet and warm yellow, plus some ultramarine to make it really dark. The ultramarine also made the colour too transparent, so I added a bit of pure black to bring back the opacity. This gave a very dark, warm brown which harmonizes with the rest of the colours.

Michael: Rotten Row, Lewes - stage 2

Second stage: A red-to-dark-grey blend over the previous blue-to-light-grey blend.



I like the reflections in the window and the cobbles on the street that are starting to appear. One more layer of ink should be enough to complete this picture.

Michael: Rotten Row, Lewes

A new linocut starts. It's the house at the junction between the High Street and Rotten Row in Lewes, East Sussex.





Not much to see yet. The first layer is a blend from cobalt blue to grey (mixed from more cobalt blue, scarlet, and warm yellow, with lots of white).

Michael: Ashdown Forest linocut II, final stage...?

I've printed a still-darker green over the previous layers.



I fixed that wobbly tree by applying some ink with a brush after printing. I'm not sure if this dark layer completes the picture; I might print a near-black over some of the tree trunks to bring them forward. (There's a bit of glare on this photo; the trees are darker than shown here.)

But previous experience shows that it's the final layer where it's most likely that everything will go wrong...

I'm going to put this print to one side while I think about what to do. Usually when I do that, I lose the linoblock, which makes the decision for me.

Michael: Ashdown Forest linocut II, stage 3

Another layer, in darker green, goes on top of the previous layer.





The trees are starting to be defined, and there's a nice effect of light flickering through the trees; but bother, I've cut away too much of that tree in the middle. It's wobbling.

Michael: Ashdown Forest linocut II, stage 2

A bright green, mixed from cobalt blue and chrome yellow, printed over the sienna layer.





It's hot today. The ink is drying quickly. Cleaning the linoblock after I'd finished printing took much longer than usual.

Michael: Dinosaur

As seen in Ashdown Forest. (Though not recently.)

Michael: Ashdown Forest linocut II, stage 1

Starting another linocut of Ashdown Forest.



I've cut away the bits that are to remain white, and then printed the block with a blend from raw sienna with lots of white, to cadmium yellow with lots of white.

Michael: Ashdown Forest linocut, final stage

The final layer of ink has been applied -- and it's all gone wrong!



Wood Eaves, Ashdown Forest. Five stage reduction linocut, 10 x 10cm.

The colour's too brown and too dark. The trees are confused, and there should have been more definition over on the right.

But I quite like the dark green shadow on the grass. That's the effect of the transparent blue layer that I applied yesterday, so that's a technique I'll try again.

On with the next print...

Michael: Ashdown Forest linocut, stage 3

Another layer of ink: dark blue grey on top of the earlier layers.



This third layer looks as if it is graduated, but it's just got lots of transparent medium to make it thinner, and let the underlying gradients show through.