Solo Exhibition - Setting Up

Today was hanging day at The Museum of North Craven Life at The Folly in Settle. Took a couple of hours to get everything hung. I had a plan worked out before hand but this changed a bit as we were hanging the works. The exhibition runs until 17th November 2019. There are 21 prints in the exhibition, a mixture of Linocuts and mezzotints, mostly landscapes with a couple of wildlife prints. These are recent works made over the last couple of years and whilst some of these have been exhibited before this is the first time I have seen them hung together as a complete body of work. They are hung in a staircase climbing up to the top floor of the museum and are shown here as if ascending.

Ground to landing

Landing to First Floor

First Floor to landing

Landing to Second Floor

The bench on the landing in the bottom right was made by Robert Thompson of Kilburn. If you look closely you can just make out the carved mouse.

Sneak Preview

21 prints all framed and labelled ready for hanging at the Folly in Settle next Saturday for the start of my solo exhibition.

A mixture of Linocuts and Mezzotint prints. Once  hung they'll look better than propped up on my studio floor.

Holiday Sketches

Just got back from a week on the Northumberland coast, a bit of a working holiday as I managed to get some sketching done which will form the basis for a new body of prints over the coming months. Struggled a bit with the watercolours as the only sketch book I took with me was filled with really smooth paper, which whilst ideal for the pen and ink drawings that are my usual sketching medium didn't take the paint well.

The first sketch, drawn from the kitchen window on the evening of our arrival. A coble drawn up from the beach against a grey sea and sky. Pen and Ink and Watercolour.

Budle Bay, drawn whilst waiting for the tide to drop low enough to cross over the causeway to Lindisfarne. Watercolour.

Following the advice of Augustus John quoted at the head of this blog page. I don't usually go for the obvious and iconic views but couldn't resist this. Upturned boats converted into sheds with the castle beyond. Lindisfarne. Pen and Ink.

Whilst driving up the coast road there were hundreds of Butterflies all moving inland. Mostly Painted Lady's but with some Red Admirals too. On  Lindisfarne they were everywhere. Watercolour.

Another go at the boat sheds. Lindisfarne. Pen and Ink.

Quick pen and ink sketch of a lobster boat offshore with Gannets flying past.

Alnwick Castle drawn from beside the old Great North Road. Pen and Ink and Watercolour.

Pen and Ink drawing of the old Lime Kilns on Beadnell Harbour. Now seemingly used as the village dump. They were filled with old discarded fish boxes, lobster pots, a couple of rusty bicycles and an old freezer.

An evening view of Dunstanburgh Castle from the south. Watercolour.

Dunstanburgh Castle again, this time from the north looking across Beadnell Bay on a flooding tide. Evening. Watercolour.

Looking north across Budle Bay to Lindisfarne Castle on the horizon. Watercolour.

High tide at Beadnell. Pen and Ink.

Inner farne from the ramparts of Bamburgh Castle. Pen and Ink.

Great Black-backed Gulls, Cormorants and a couple of Goosanders at Beadnell sitting on rocks at high tide. Watercolour.
Click on the images to enlarge.