Michael: Ashdown Forest linocuts, final stage

Final layer of colour: I used a near-black, mixed from ultramarine, cadmium red, and cadmium yellow, adjusting the proportions to suit the underlying colours.


Ashdown Forest, Looking South.
Five stage reduction linocut, 10 x 10 cm.


Ashdown Forest, Autumn Morning.
Five stage reduction linocut, 10 x 10 cm.

The thing that I like about these prints is that I managed to keep the early layers very pale, which improves the contrast with the dark later layers.

The things that I don't like are some not-very-good drawing in places, and too many "Why did I cut that?" moments.

On with the next prints...

Richard - Back to life

It's September, so life drawing starts again. Here are a few quick poses from last week ...

Michael: Croydon Art Society exhibition

Croydon Art Society exhibition at Denbies Vineyard, Dorking, Surrey. 6 - 19 September, 2010.

Michael: Ashdown Forest linocuts, stage 4

I put the prints to one side for a day or two. When they're not going well, it's hard to find the enthusiasm to continue.

At last, I added another layer.





I think the new layers have improved the prints; the darker tones give them a bit more impact.

I'll probably finish them now.

Michael: Ashdown Forest linocuts, stage 3

Another layer on each of these prints.





And I'm still not happy. The second one has been particularly awkward. After printing a few, I noticed something wrong on the right edge of the print:



There's a strip of the underlying yellow layer showing down the edge of the print. It looks like misregistration -- but the left edge of the print is correctly registered. It's as if the block shrunk while it went through the press! The error is only a few millimetres wide, but that's enough to mar a small print like this (it's 10cm square).

After printing another copy I found that the error was consistent. I fixed it by hand-burnishing that edge before putting the block through the press, which seem to stick it in the correct place.

Richard - In the rain

The weather has been really nice for the last few days. Unfortunately, such wasn't the case last week when I took a few days off to do some painting. This is what I ended up with: a couple of views of Camp Hill on Ashdown Forest as the rain clouds roll through. Both 12"x12", oil on canvas.

Life drawing sessions

Starting on 11 September 2010, the London Road Group will be organizing regular life drawing sessions in East Grinstead, West Sussex. For more information, click here.