paintings prints and stuff

 Detail  I have always liked the calligraphic tangle of the hedges when they are sihouetted against the sky.   Recent snowfall meant even more opportunities with amazing light and the landscape simplified and hidden by the snow, throwing hedges into relief. Above is a detail of a double page sketch in the lovely Stillman and Birn Beta A4 hardback sketchbook.  This paper is so forgiving and the watercolour works beautifully with it.  It allowed me to work through wet washes with charcoal pencil - something that tears many papers, leaving holes.  Some of the hedge is paint, some tinted charcoal. First snow, more on the way, winter light: silhouetted hedges in watercolour and Derwent tinted charcoal in a Stillman and Birn A4 beta hardback sketchbook The earlier warm golden glow of the low sun is covered by clouds, threatening more snow to come.   The spiky calligraphic marks of the hedge and the underlying form of the bank, w...

collagraph, Undergrowth copyright Vivien Blackburn I came across this collagraph that I did ages ago in a folder - it was languishing there because it wasn't a particularly good print. So I worked on it with coloured pencil and Pitt pen - the coloured pencil takes really nicely on the Fabriano paper in a fuzzy way. I'd shaped the plate slightly in this one, it isn't the plain oblong of the seahorses. For those who don't know, collagraphs are made by cutting, peeling, incising and sticking stuff on to mount/matt card and then printing from it after varnishing it with shellac to protect it. Inking it up with oil based printing inks and as it's an intaglio process it needs a printing press or at least very high pressure to print it. I have thought of experimenting with a flower press but I'm not sure that the pressure would be even enough. I have heard of people putting the papers and printing plate between boards and driving over them - and they assured me it work...