Feet and Beaks

Having spent the evening cutting out stencils, which I thought were pretty accurate, I found I had to cut them out again as somewhere in the distant past I must have slightly changed the composition from the original drawing. I salvaged it by cutting the paper up and strategically placing it over the lino which seemed  to do the job.

Stencils being re-cut

So on with the yellow ink. I went for a pure Dairylide Yellow and extender which will form the basis of the feet and most importantly the beaks.

Inking up with yellow

The yellow looks quite alarming against the pale blue and grey but hardly any of this will show by the time all the other layers are over the top. One thing I have learn't about this process is to not get swayed or diverted by weird things that go on in the middle of the print. As a painter I would never make this decision so there is a certain amount of trust (or nashing of teeth) in the printing process itself.

Yellow against the blue

Next step will be to print shades of orange so more stencils and more shocking colour combinations, but this will make the distinctive beaks that give puffins so much character.

For those of you who have visited my Etsy shop, you will have seen my last Puffin print, 'First Catch', which is a small dry point print, hand coloured to show off their distinctive beaks.

'First Catch', Dry Point Etching

Etsy Shop Now Open

For the past few weeks I have been distracted by opening my Etsy Shop which has meant that the Puffins print has been on hold. I then spent a week trying to make a decision on whether to put it in the blend layer that I had originally planned. Other distractions have crept in as well with the arrival of new printing blankets so I could get on with some collagraphs.....maybe.....just as long as I don't get distracted by something else.

Planning my next move in the studio

After pacing up and down and wringing my hands a lot, I finally made a decision to not do the blend as I thought it might kill the delicate blue and take away from the puffins themselves. 

Removing the background

So instead I cut out the background and printed a very pale grey that will now form the basis for the rest of the print.

Showing a touch of grey

Now I've made that decision I can see the next few steps forward so hopefully everything will be a little more straight forward.

In the mean time visit my shop; www.etsy.com/uk/shop/YsobelBanfieldDesign
I have stocked it with a selection of small prints, original art works and hand printed cards

Starting Something New

It's been a few weeks since I've been able to get back in my studio. After a bit of a clear out the remaining boxes are back on the shelves, the printing press has been re-installed, ready to go and the desk is clear for painting to begin.
My first task is a bit of a mammoth one...to lay the first layer of ink down on my Puffins print.
Imagine a rectangle of white and you're pretty much there, followed by a transparent powder blue...followed by a blend of blue/pale blue to finish off the sky.

Ready for an evening of carving

With the white background already done, I spent the evening carving out the white on the puffins. Just to make life easy I marked out everywhere I wanted  to keep crisp (and it helped me sort out which direction the feathers were going).

The palest blue

Now time for the ink. Try as I might this photograph does not show the right tone of blue. It is very pale but in real life it looks a lot bluer. The idea of making it so pale is simple enough. I want to lay a blend over the top to give more depth to the sky.

Inked up and ready to go

Twenty prints later there is the emergence of Puffins. It was a good day in the office as the composition is looking OK. Once this little lot has dried out, the next challenge will be to get the blend to balance....

Just visible - pale blue Puffins

The End of the Trail 2017

Well, it's been the end of a busy few weeks focusing on the Arts Trail. Thanks to all of you who made it to our venue. Once again it was a great event with lots of interesting artists to look at. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did. Here are a couple of paintings you might recognise...

Ascending Light

Dawn Rising

Now I am looking forward to the next few weeks of pottering around the studio and playing with a few ideas that I have had.

My Puffins reduction lino cut is top of the list as well as some relief printed cards. There are paintings to be done for the Emsworth Artists Summer Exhibition and a few experiments into textile printing. Oh and if I get the time I will be having a go at collagraphs. Sounds a lot but can't wait to get started.

Emsworth Arts Trail 2017

What a great day to have an Arts Trail. We've been relaxing in the spring sunshine and talking to all those who have been making their way around the Arts Trail. This was the set up this morning just before we opened.

Looking good in the sunshine

Geometric Textile Design

Check out the chair! My son's art project is slowly taking shape. Can't wait to see how this develops.

A few extras!

We're looking forward to tomorrow as many people are bringing their partners back to have another look.

Series of Nine; Paintings 8&9

At last the series of nine small paintings has been finished and is ready to hang. All the large paintings are also ready to hang and the studio is well on it's way to being emptied.

As usual now that everything is packed away I want to get on with new work and start preparing canvases ready for painting. Inspiration always strikes when I can't get on with anything...I will have to stick to the sketchbook for now.

'Rippling Stream'

'Crashing Waves'

Series of Nine; Paintings 6&7

With one week to go paintings are starting to take a turn for the better. Here are the next in the series of nine small paintings.

'Through the Gloom'

'A Break in the Storm'

There's still a huge amount to do with my studio still needing to be cleared out. Ideas and experiments have had to be put on hold for the moment while large paintings are being finished off.
Next year the 'artists studio' will be part of the show as I am going to leave studies and sketchbooks out for folks to browse through...the thought of emptying everything out again is getting way too much!