Michael: Cuckmere Valley, final stage

Final stage of this print -- at last.



Seven-stage reduction linocut, 24 x 17cm.

The view is from High and Over, the highest point on the road between Seaford and Alfriston, looking north over the Cuckmere Valley towards Wilmington Hill.

Michael: Cuckmere Valley, stage 5

Stage 5, stage 4, stage 6? This print has been dragging on so long, I think I've lost count. However, the latest darker layer has been a big jump forward: the details appear, and at last, the end is in sight.



One more stage to go.

Or maybe two.

Michael: Cuckmere Valley, stage 4

Another, darker, green layer. Some of the fields appear.



The tones in the earlier layers look more "correct" now that this mid-toned layer is in place.

I thought that the print would need only two more layers, and that this would be the penultimate one, but now it looks as if there will still be two more after this one.

Michael: Cuckmere Valley, stage 3

Third stage: A blue-green to yellow-green blend over the previous layers. The trees on the distant hills appear.



This layer looks too dark. Or are the previous ones too light?

I'm hoping there will be only another two layers to complete this print.

Michael: Cuckmere Valley, stage 2

A slightly darker version of the blend that was on the first stage, but still trying to keep the tones light.



The clouds and the river appear. That's the sky finished, at least.

Michael: Cuckmere Valley, stage 1

First stage of a new linocut. I've cut away a few marks that I want to stay white, and then printed a blended layer from ultramarine blue to yellow ochre to a blue-grey mix.



Not much to see yet. Forcing myself to keep the early stages as light as possible to create more contrast with the darker, later stages.

Michael: South Downs linocut, final stage

A dark green layer completes the picture. Just finished this in time to show it at the Lewes Artwave exhibition.



Across the Downs. Five stage reduction linocut, 24 x 17 cm.

This is the view from the hill above Wilmington, East Sussex. The "Long Man" is just below, to the right. I'm looking west; the peak on the horizon is Firle Beacon. Just below it, you can see the steeple of Berwick church.

Michael: South Downs linocut, stage 4

Another green blend over the previous layers.



The greens on this layer are mixed from cadmium yellow with ultramarine blue instead of the cobalt that I used on the earlier layers. Ultramarine is warmer than cobalt; warm colours move to the front of the picture plane, increasing the sense of depth.



One more layer to go.

Michael: South Downs linocut, stage 3

Third layer: A darker blend of blue green down to brighter green.



Yesterday, I was thinking about whether I should depict the landscape as it is (that is, wet and grey in England), or how it should be: warm and sunny.

Today, I realised the solution: Move to a country where the landscape is warm and sunny.

Michael: South Downs linocut, stage 2

Second layer: I cut away more of the clouds, the grass, and some of the distant buildings, and then printed a blend from blue down to green.



As expected, the sky in the first layer was too dark. It doesn't look much like England.

There's a dilemma here. Do I make skies pale and grey, which is accurate and honest -- or do I make them warm and blue, which is cheerful and attractive?

What's the point of making pictures? To show the world how it is, or how it should be? Discuss.

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!").

Landscape patterns: 2

Here's another linocut that I have been working on that uses both the patterns of the landscape, and the effect of using multiple images in the same print. The images here are all views from Firle Beacon.



Four colour reduction linocut, 16 x 16cm.

I like the effect of the multiple images, and some of the shapes have been simplified towards that point where you can't quite tell if it's a landscape. But the colours (blue sky above green grass) give the game away. And I've ended up with four colours, which is too many for what I am trying to do...

South Downs: 2

I've done some more work on the three landscape paintings that I started the other day.



This one's got some definition, but it still needs more.



This one has more definition too, and there is a sense of distance emerging.



This one's still loose in the foreground, but oops, those cliffs are already too realistic. I don't want this to end up like every other picture of the Seven Sisters.

Landscape patterns: 1

Another linocut, combining multiple images. Trying to extract the abstract patterns of the landscape. Some of the sections within this picture work for me: there's enough naturalism to make them look like landscape, and enough abstraction so that the landscape isn't the first thing you see. But it's a fine balancing point: some of the sections are too naturalistic, and some of the sections are too abstract.



Three stage reduction linocut, 16 x 16 cm.

South Downs: 1

Here is the first stage of some landscape paintings that I am working on. But there's a long way to go yet.


View from Firle Beacon


Lewes from Firle Beacon


Seven Sisters
Each acrylic on canvas, 50 x 50cm.