New Zealand Falcon Illustration – Framed

New Zealand Falcon

Just got the latest New Zealand Falcon Illustration (Pen & Ink with Watercolour) back from the framer.

A simple dark brown timber frame and double paper coloured matt.

New Zealand Falcon – Wildlife Illustration

New Zealand Falcon 2 Illustration

I have recently completed another small wildlife (fauna) illustration of the New Zealand Falcon. This is another ‘head-shot’. Beautiful birds – we saw them up close at Wingspan outside Rotorua in New Zealand last year.

New Zealand Falcon 1 Illustration

New Zealand Wildflowers…Linocut…Framed

I have just had the New Zealand Wildflowers Linocut framed for my son to take back with him to NZ. He chose a wide matt board and wide flat black frame – not something that I would have thought of choosing but it came up as quite dramatic and ‘clean’. I find framing my work the hardest thing to do often struggling with what I chose. It is so subjective – it seems no matter what I chose some people like it and some don’t.

Waiting for oil based ink to dry … and Handpainting Linocuts

I am still waiting for the commissioned linocut print’s oil based ink I use for printing my linocuts, to dry….I’m sure you all know of waiting on paint to dry…it sometimes, depending on the weather, takes days. Fortunately with printmaking we are using thin even layers (well hopefully – many a print has been discarded due to uneven inking of the block…frustrating at times, and costly) but it still takes time to dry. The weather is quite nice (at least it’s not raining but there is a definite nip in the air which makes even drying the washing on the clotheslines take longer.

The reason for using oil based inks is so that when I handpaint with traditional artist watercolours the oil based ink of the printed area repels the watercolour. If you were to use a waterbased ink (which dries quickly and cleans up with water) then when you come to handpaint it also dissolves the water based ink. Also you get such a lovely lustrous black with the oil based ink which highlights the colour of the transparent watercolour which I also like.

Anyway…in the meantime I have completed the colour proof of the heater dried print - probably not the best for the paper but it is only a working proof (see above for the partial image). It is a working proof which means I record the colours used on the print (just by penciling them in on the border and sometimes painting a little square of colour) and note any changes I would make on the final editioned prints.

Whilst waiting for the ink to dry for the final prints am handcolouring some of the New Zealand Wildflowers prints….

Copyright – Lynette Weir

New Zealand Wildflowers – Handcoloured Linocut

Being impatient I usually end up putting one of the less successful prints on top of my oil heater to dry it as quickly as possible. So this is the one that dried much more quickly and today I managed to do the first handcolouring ‘master’ on which I record all the colours for each flower/foilage. Basically this is the final colouring I will use – there are some minor changes which I have noted but basically this is how the final linocut of this New Zealand Wildflowers design will be handcoloured and editioned.

Still deciding on how many to actually edition…perhaps 20…

I’ve listed it on my website.

New Zealand Wildflowers – Final print processes

I finally made it into the studio to print this morning! This is an image of the first print off the block. The next step is waiting for it to dry and then handcolouring. I use an oil based ink to print the black which can take a few days to dry depending on the weather. I then do a sample handcoloured print working out exact colours – within the designing process I had already made the major decisions about the general colours I would use so it is a refining process at this stage. I usually mark on this ‘master’ the names and sample of all the colours I use for each flower/foilage.

This is quite a complicated design and very ‘busy’ – combinations of flowers, foilage and colour are quite complex – hopefully it will all work!!

So now I will wait for the ink to dry……..

Copyright – Lynette Weir

The Final Cut – New Zealand Wildflowers Linocut block

Finally finished carving the New Zealand Wildflowers Linocut block. I have chosen to cut around the edges to get the lines I want without any additional ink marks coming from stray pieces of lino.

Unfortunately I will be busy for the next 3 days so it will be Saturday before I can print it.

Copyright – Lynette Weir

New Zealand Wildflowers – Linocut

…Following are images of the wildflowers used to create the NZ Wildflowers Linocut design…

Linocut Carving – New Zealand Wildflowers

I am working away steadily at the NZ Wildflowers Linocut. I have had RSI in my arm/shoulder/neck in the past and so am mindful to try and take regular breaks. I used to just carve and carve to finish each piece as soon as possible but have been persuaded in recent times by physios etc that really the better approach is to take breaks, stretch and vary what I am doing. This is one of the reasons I am also doing the botanical & fauna illustration work.

As you can see I am up to the ‘fiddly flowers’ – lots of small carved sections to create the overall flower…

Anyway the block is getting there slowly (for me!) but I am also battling the ‘flu at the moment as well.

I will try and post some of the flower images as I go along so you can see the actual flowers and what I’ve done with them within this design.

Copyright – Lynette Weir

Currently working on…Tawny Frogmouth Illustration & New Zealand Wildflowers Linocut…

I am currently working on 2 projects. The first is a continuation of some fauna illustration work – it is a Tawny Frogmouth. After drawing it up lightly on watercolour paper I added some light underwashes of colour with watercolour. I have then been slowly working using a rotring pen with black ink with tiny (and sometimes what seems endless!) dots to create the detail…it’s getting there…slowly…

The second project is finally carving the NZ Wildflowers Design linoblock.

Again getting there slowly…