I have finally started to get back to work – although slowly – and have just updated my website with the final version of the ‘Tawny Expressions’ linocut which I have called ‘Evry Move You Make…Watching YOU’.
The local ‘tawnies’ as they are affectionately known are back of an evening hunting under the street lights and sending out their thrumming oom-oom. Each year I hope they will find the trees in our yard to nest in but so far no such luck! But I look forward to thei summertime visits and hopefully they will bring a young one or two around again for a visit.
Last year I was contacted by Lynda Kuntyj and asked to contribute to a resource textbook to help support the new Western Australian Visual Arts Curriculum for Primary/Secondary students.
I am very interested in promoting the visual arts and in teaching/tutoring, having a degree in art education. After speaking to Lynda, who is obviously passionate about teaching, I contributed some of my images, working arts practice methodology and tutorial text.
Impact Publishing released this book early this year and you can find out more about this book here. There is a pdf file with sample pages from this book that you can download – this includes 2 of the pages with some of the information that I contributed.
This is one of the textbooks from of a series of three. They all look quite helpful as resources for art teachers and students even though it is the WA syllabus the information looks like it would be useful generally.
It is wet windy and cold here at the moment with a ‘weather event’ looming – according to the weather forecasters. Nice weather for being inside drinking coffee, making winter comfort food and well procrastinating which seems to loom large for me in recent times.
I have however managed to complete one set of colour drafts of the set of 12 tawny expressions linocuts. I wasn’t sure how much to hand colour at this point so have gone in this set for the full colour with glowing yellow eyes look.
Below are the template images with just yellow eyes…
Tawny Expressions Linocut Templates
I was planning to have them framed using black core black mountboard with a black frame so the second image here is to give some idea of that.
I will probably sit on these images for a while (yes more procrastinating!) so I am going back to carving some more work and also further working on the Barn Owl image. I did the original drawing of this barn owl about 5 years ago and it has waffled around for all that time. I have come up with a whole new way of looking at it and may even drop the orginal idea in favour of developing the new images. I will post the process at some stage as it can be valuable for an artist to look at their own processes in a more ordered fashion required for blogging and may provide some small insights for others. Well hopefully anway!
Having finally carved, printed and now coloured this linocut (after working on the original drawing over a year ago and the pre-sketch ideas are over 2 years old!) I finally have finished!
I had hand painted the emu first as you can see but it felt a bit empty so added a graded wash of ‘Australian Red Gold’ which I am quite pleased with. I must say this one of my favourite watercolour pigments as it just seems to have a glow about it. I think the background colour can make a huge difference to any work and often it may take several tries to create the effect you want. So now it is a matter of completing the edition of this design.
Oh and still deciding on a final name for this work? Any ideas?
As I indicated in yesterdays post I have finally printed some of the numerous unfinished designs that have been sitting around on the ‘to do list’ for in some cases years!
So here are the black and white versions- can’t wait for the ink to dry and starting playing with some colour ideas on these 2 works – I already have the framing ideas.
Firstly is the set of 12 tawny expressions. These started as drawing studies of Tawny Frogmouths which I couldn’t resist taking into linocut designs.
The second is a madcap emu that was originally what I considered a less than successful drawing. In the end I went for the slightly unhinged quality of the drawing – especially as emus seem to have this quality about them. As for the design I decided to extend the lines created by the feathering into the background to add to this whole mad type impression.
Any suggestions for the title of this work? “C’mon, make my day” for some reason springs to mind!!
Here a few quick tips on getting your linocut block prepared ready for printing.
* Before you start carving or printing a linocut block you can gently remove the waterproof coating. Linocut blocks are coated in a waterproof coating – if you place a drop of water on the surface it will bead and not soak in. I remove this coating with a superfine grade ‘wet’ sandpaper – using a small amount of water I gently rub the surface with the sandpaper. You will see the coating coming off easily – I then towel dry the block. If you then place a drop of water on the surface it will soak in.
* I trim the edges of the block to make a clean line for the print using a steel ruler and a sharp bladed knife. Traditional linocut blocks have a hessian backing.
* When you trim a linocut block this hessian backing needs to be further trimmed back to ensure none of the hessian stringing is left – this string can easily pick up ink when you are printing and create unsightly marks onto the surface of the print.
* I use scissors to trim – first from the front and then I turn the block over and check of there are any pieces of string that may slowly come undone whilst printing and I trim these back as well. I regularly check the block whilst printing to ensure no stray fine hairs are still there and picking up ink. It is easy to miss one and it is not until it marks the print that you realise it is there.
Within the black and white section of the above image on the left you can see a fine white line – this is one of the small and often extremely fine hairs that can easily ruin a great print – just ask me I know!! The image on the right shows the fine marks that can occur from these hairs picking up the ink. I have discarded many prints (which is quite costly) because of this. I try to keep a particular standard to the prints I include within an edition and work at improving my skills on an ongoing basis. I am finding that as my actual printing technique and knowledge of printmaking improves so the standards I want within each print of an edition, also increases. I am always seeking to learn new and improved techniques and tips through a variety of sources. I am very aware that over time my printmaking skills have improved and as a result so have the prints! I hope this information helps other linocut printmakers in identifying this and other common printing mistakes.
As you can all guess I finally got to print my Tawny Expressions blocks tonight – after spending time in Sydney, being unwell and the awful wet weather (that I tend to try to not print in – now that’s another issue of damp, limp paper in wet and humid weather) I have managed to do some printing this afternoon – fine sunny and actually quite warm for this time of year. Speaking of weather tonights printing listening music – Crowded House!
I have finally finished carving the linoleum blocks for the “Tawny Expressions” linocut print. They are smaller blocks but a lot of smaller complex carving with the No 1 blade so fiddly and time consuming. Carving larger expanses of open “white” space is far quicker and a bit more dramatic really.
So here they all are!
If you look at the edges around the carved designs you will see I haven’t as yet trimmed the blocks back. A good tip for carving is to leave a small edge that can be cut back with a knife when you have finished carving. As linoluem is a softer material it is easy to chip off an edge or even wear a corner off whilst carving. So if what you are looking for in a design is a nice even neat edge (well as best you can get given the pliable nature of the lino) then it is a good idea to leave a little around the edge of the design to cut back just before printing.
It has been extremely wet in our little corner of the world for a few weeks now so I will wait until it dries out a bit before printing them…in the meantime I am carving the Emu as well as continuing with finalising the alphabet designs.
A quick update…I have been working…albeit it very slowly…on these small designs but not getting a long way.
Sometimes life and circumstances make for slow progress.
This is the current state – four small linocut carvings completed and starting on a fifth – only eight to go!
Tawny Expressions Linocut Templates
I have also had 2 more visits to our backyard from our local pair of tawny frogmouths in the last week or so which has been great and some new photos of their activities of course!
I have still been plodding along with the alphabet designs a bit as well – will post more about them soon.
Just a quick update to let you know I am carving the Tawny Frogmouth Expressions linocuts! They are smaller blocks and I am back to using the grey silkcut lino which is nice.
I am trying to take regular breaks and watch that I don’t spend too much time bent over in the same position to help alleviate the RSI that is so annoying. I also use a wrist guard which forces me to adjust the position I hold my hand in and be more aware of taking breaks. Sometimes I get so involved in carving a section that I forget how long I have been working in the same position. Anyway so far so good!
Typically for me I am also in between times working on the final images for the alphabets – almost finished all the wildlife images.
it is rainy and damp here at the moment and it is not supposed to ease off for the next couple of days. But I like these days (as long as I am not trying to get things printed in which case I don’t as the damp gets into the lovely dry paper!) they are pottering and working days…
Sometimes when I print a design I decide to change something about it or add something to the design after I have done the initial proof prints. This is the case with the recent Banksia coccinea design. You can see the linocut block on top of the proof print which I have handoloure – painted with watercolours.
This initial rough proof print seemed ok but when I printed a couple of extras that I thought I might need as watercolour proofs I found that the carving of some of the stamen within the banksias was simply not deep enough and they quickly filled with ink leaving progressively thinner lines.
This closeup shows where I have come back to the linocut block and recarved sections making the lines a bit deeper and less prone to filling with ink. If you look closely you will see some carved sections have the ink stain and others look ‘cleaner’ – these are the recarved stamens.
I’ll see if this time when I print it I am happy with the results!
I have finally started to get back to work – although slowly – and have just updated my website with the final version of the ‘Tawny Expressions’ linocut which I have called ‘Evry Move You Make…Watching YOU’.
