Linocut of some dancers, based on photos I took in Glastonbury. They will be printed in red and yellow for next midsummer.
Beltane
Category: Printmaking
A level exam piece
I found this exam piece from 1980. Was there a specific theme on the exam paper? There were discussions with art teachers about what ‘advanced’ level really meant. One art teacher assumed I was being critical of his teaching style, or another person’s work. I wanted to know the difference between ‘ordinary’ and ‘advanced’ level printmaking. One of the art teachers was keen on outlines, which is why the wine glass has a dark line around it rather than having a darker table (or floor?) next to its lighter side.
There’s too much cutting here to have fitted into the 15 hours allowed for the exam, so it deserved the D grade. “It’s the time factor, y’see?” was often said to us in passing. It would have taken less time without all the cross hatching. I wasn’t pleased with the composition but felt too overwhelmed by the whole process to think about using a better sketch at the time.
A few years later the art college principal’s secretary queried my Art & Craft A level. It was allegedly unsuitable for a Fine Art establishment, but hadn’t been mentioned until I had been studying there for a year. That sent me back to the midst of this linocut, feeling inadequate and unable to speak clearly about my creative abilities.
Jack Frost
Made a start on a linocut, Jack Frost with the sun trapped in a block of ice. Or is it? Anyway, the repetitive action of cutting small lines isn’t good for the shoulder wound so I’m staying away from the lino today.
Tidying some space around the house. The last chimney improvements added a fine layer of dust to this dinner set that has been sitting around for years. Might inspire some still life drawings, or some pasta sauces that will be good in the wider bowls in the corner.
Green Fuse
There’s often an imaginary gallery in my dream landscape. Various prints and drawings appear on the walls, some of which I recycled years ago. A few months ago, this woodland scene was on display. I didn’t like it but it kept getting in the way of my dreaming walk around the gallery. Maybe if I make a version in the real world it’ll disappear from my dreams? Cutting the lino took a long time. A drawing would’ve been much more direct but it wouldn’t have looked right.
I’m very fond of folk tales and legends. The thought of making pictures of tree spirits didn’t appeal, there are enough around already. I suppose this is a depiction of the life force of the planet we live on. We don’t think about our connectivity until it’s under threat.
The theory of bad workmen blaming their tools comes in again. Blunt cutting tools won’t cut fine lines exactly where you plan them to be. Badly made rollers/brayers won’t pick up ink smoothly. I thought I’d use a second roller to add blue to the upper corners of the tree. It didn’t pick up any ink at all…
Sometimes a tiny detail isn’t in contact with the paper. A wooden spoon or the edge of a coin is useful to rub that section more closely. My usual beach pebble had disappeared so a piece of lapis lazuli was employed instead.
Green and Red
I found two offcuts from the corners of a previous linocut. Some little sketches could be tweaked to fit. The test print with an ink pad on a postcard shows there are some angles that need curving.
Midwinter Dance
It might look more cold and blizzard-like with a black sky? Originally I was pondering the lack of snow in our future, as well as the unpleasantness of dancing in slush.
Ancestors
The image is inspired by Adam and Eve’s carving on the west front of Lincoln cathedral, not far from the mouth of hell. My Lincoln ancestors were stonemasons.
Little bird of truth
berry daines 