Starting a new print

 On one of our regular local walks exploring the moors near our home. My daughter Carly and I came across this little stone bridge crossing the feeder canal to one of the moorland reservoirs. I made a quick pen and ink sketch and then back home in the studio made a more careful pen and ink scraperboard cartoon in reverse ready to transfer to the Maple wood endgrain block. The final photo shows the block with the newly started engraving.

Pen and Ink field drawing

Reversed drawing the same size as the wood block in pen and ink on scraperboard.

The newly started engraving.

3rd time lucky

 

Sunny Bank Farm

Linocut

296mm x 209mm

Edition of 9

I finished this linocut earlier today, the first lino print I've made since last summer. Having spent the autumn and winter months working on wood engravings and a mezzotint. This is a subject that has taxed me to say the least though.After two previous failed attempts at making a print of this ruined farm I've wasted more ink, lino and paper on this crumbling pile of stones than any other subject I've tackled. Finally I have an image I'm happy with.

Stepping Stones

 

Stepping Stones

Wood Engraving on Maple 

100mm x 75mm

Edition of 30

Printed on 145gsm Zerkall smooth with Hawthorn Printmakers Dense Black Ink, completed 12th February 2021.

First Print of the Year

 

Dipper

Wood Engraving on Boxwood

50mm x 62mm

Edition of 20

Printed with Hawthorn Printmakers Dense Black Ink on 145gsm Zerkall Smooth.

The first print of the New Year and the last of my little sample pieces of endgrain blocks.

The Last Print of the Year

The last couple of days have been spent editioning the mezzotint plate that I have finally finished working on. For those interested in the more technical aspects it's worked on a copper plate rocked in 24 directions with a 2.5 inch wide 65 lines per inch Lyons Rocker. Printed with a mixture of Charcoal Black and Warm Black Inks from Hawthorn Printmakers on 220gsm Fabriano Rosapina paper.

The Last Shadows of Summer

Mezzotint

150mm x 200mm

Edition of 20

A print made in mid winter looking back to the last days of summer.

Stoat

 Another small wood engraving on Boxwood printed on Boxing Day.

Stoat

Wood Engraving

51mm x 54mm

Edition of 20

Roe Deer

 The mezzotint plate that I have been working on for the last couple of months is now ready to edition. However, due to a small stock control issue I've none of the Fabriano Rosapina paper that I use for the mezzotints. So whilst waiting for the order to arrive I engraved and printed this little wood engraving instead. Based on some sketches made back in March of one of a group of 4 deer feeding along the edge of a field close to my home.

Printed with Hawthorn Printmakers Dense Black Ink on 145gsm Zerkall Smooth paper.