Studio spring cleaning

The cleaning in the studio is going well but slow as I’m sorting through all the UFP’s, I keep come across experiments that I did a will back and I can now see where I can expand on them and take them in a different way. This pile is getting very large.

The garden is a different story and an on-going one ha-ha but it will not beat me.

Untitled

Acrylic paint 

10" x 12" Boxed Canvas

Spring is Here and a New Broom

Ok it’s the 1^st September and that means is spring here and it’s one off the nicest days we have had in a long time blue skies and fluffy white clouds

So im going to start my spring cleaning with a week of cleaning out my studio and workshop and getting the garden in to shape

Its hard looking though all the UFP’s and deciding which one to carry on with, which ones to pack away for later and which ones are beyond hope and mead to be recycled.   

mono/type relief print

Tea and Black Ink 

World Roast Day

What a great excuse to have a nice roast meal of roast beef and Yorkshire puddings and roast veg with family and friends    

mono/type relief print

Tea and Black Ink 

Feeding the Inner Child

Ok this may not be what some would a good use of creative time but it is just what my Inner child called for. 

So I took the time to bake myself a nice  Date Cake to have with a cup of tea and spend some time reading the two new book I got in the post on Making Paper.

Date Cake

Yummy

Last of Winter Blues

OK i'm getting really tired of this winter.

So I'm going to try to shake myself out of the blue and start to get back in to making art 

ATC 

Relief print  

YUM Hot Cross Sticky Buns

Yum yum Home made Hot cross sticky buns just out of the oven

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I myself had a great one catching up with family and friends over tea and hot cross buns that I made. plus I spent time in the garden picking and tidying up for winter and I still found time to kick back and play some computer game.
Great weekend.

Change As Good As a Rest

Change As Good As a Rest so they tell me. Well my wife and I went on a 3 day retreat at my friend’s studio and retreat this weekend. Spent all day Thursday cleaning up and packing my print shop up I had no idea what I was going to need for the week end so I took almost everything we set off just after lunch time on Friday and drove for 2 hour to get there we had plenty of time to look around on the way. Over the week end I did an impromptu demo on relief printing made 10 wood grain texture plates 2 woodcut blocks, a linocut and 2 dry points plus I got to proof them all. All in all I had a really great weekend I hope you all had one too.    

Woodcut proof

Something New

On Saturday I went to our printmaking group for some reason not many people turned up for it. I myself was not going to stay long as there weren’t any one to talk to, just when I ready to leave a friend turned up and we started to talk and she demonstrated sola plate to and we play with scape bit of sola plate for a couple of hour. So today I went out to the art supply shop and got myself some sola plates to play with.  

ATC

(Metal etched Aluminium Plate)

220g paper

A Need to get Dusty

I had a great urge to get my soft pastels out and have a play with them this morning seeing as I have neglected them for over a year or so. As I spent last week walking around galleries, gardens and park I decided to take them outside and play plus it’s too hot in my studio to do much work in there. In doing so I have found a renewed respect for the artist who go out and paint wildlife as I found that the beggars just will not stay still long enough so I can take my time and do then justice haha.

So this is a soft pastel of a duck swimming done very quickly I got the shape down fast and just looked and guested the rest but I still think if they just stayed still long it would make life and painting a lot easier haha.

"Afloat"

Soft Pastels on burgundy Fabriano pastel paper (9"x 11")

Feb 2012

Not much happening this week

Well I have been busy this week been working hard making art but I can’t really say that that done anything of interest but I made a goal to try and blog at least once a week so here it is.

MonoPrint

Gelatine plate water base inks

One Down

Well we are in to February and it feels like this year has been made up of short weeks. This weekend has been another long weekend but I think it is the last one till Easter, I like that idea as it means, I do not have to stop and start and can just work though. Plus the kids are back at school so there are not so many people on the beaches. Haha

MonoPrint

Gelatine plate Acrylic paint

A little bit more colour

Well this month has just flown by I hope you have all been taking care of your art. Myself I have been very busy and cant wait to work on some of the new ideas I have for next month.

ATC

(Metal etched Aluminium Plate)

220g paper

In the shadow of the mountain

I’m really looking forward to the first art group of the New Year, to meet up with artist friends at a friend’s studio. Her studio is right under a mountain range and puts on a different mood each day, it’s a great day working, talking, sharing ideas plus we have a marvellous pot luck lunch. The only down side of the day is when we have to pack up and drive home, but we came start to looking forward to the next time haha.

Woodcut (Recycle block)

Safewash ink on 220gm Print paper

Ed of 5

A little bit of this and of that

I have been playing with some more non-toxic metal salts etching on aluminium.

I just love the way that you came etch a metal plate and make a print out of odds and sods that you have all ready in your kitchen cupboards and garden shed.

ATC

(Metal etched Aluminium Plate)

220g paper

Family and Friends

Well that’s a good start to the New Year my studio and myself were hijacked for the week. My wife and a friend decided that I was going to run an impromptu Acrylic paint texture workshop. It went very well and we had a lot of fun and ended up with same nice pieces each. So it goes to show that the best laid plan can all ways be retract at this time of year when you have friends around hahaha but its always nice and fun

Dry point (2" x 3")

Ed of 10

Happy New Year 2012

Well it’s a start of another year I hope it fined you all well and looking forward too what it may bring. Myself, I am, as there is a lot of thing I wish to do. I am planning to work harder be kind to myself and balance life. Work, play and health.

I started the year in my studio cleaning up but got bored with it so made a small mono-print

"First Night 2012"

Monoprint

W/base ink 220g printmakers paper

Jan 2012