Sentinel

Looking at some of the images printed yesterday. This one started as a photograph taken a couple of weeks ago. I like the way the print changes the character of a pretty ordinary photo and gives you so much more. I have faced the fact that the world of photography is safe from me! I had the idea that this single plant looking out over the frozen field is a sentinel waiting for Spring.

From one photocopy, I am getting maybe one decent print and two for the bin. Some of the lighter images may be useful to keep as background for something else.

Coming Up Roses - Part II and Dead Birds

Spent the day experimenting with gum litho lift. The image on the left, that I was going to abandon a week ago; photocopied in black and white and re-printed, has taken on a new life and the separate elements are working far better now.

It was a mixed result today with quite a few surprises. The little pansy image did not work out well at all - I know I promised to post the outcome but it wasn't strong enough to scan, so will do some work there to see if I can improve it.

Some of the best images were from magazines, the dead birds came from a National Geographic magazine - this might be the print quality, sharper images? I quickly ran out of photocopies , each one had a short life of maybe two or three prints before it started to degrade and there was probably one good one.

I am finishing the day looking at other suitable images to take to the photocopy shop tomorrow.

Photo Lift

A photo-collage showing the end of the working day in the studio ...and its looking a little more normal with bits of paper and images that I am currently working on strewn about.

I have been experimenting with gum litho lift today. That is the coating of a Xeroxed photcopy with gum arabic and using the lithographic theory of oil and water not mixing to produce prints. I think that's it anyway. Oil-based inks rolled onto the coated photocopy attract the ink to the darker photocopy ink and is resisted in the lighter areas.

The results were variable - and are hanging on the line drying. The first few were poor and then I began to see some interesting developments, which I can build on.

I do like printmaking in that it often opens the option to take images that have not worked well in one medium and develop them in an entirely new direction.

Gin & Tonic?

Having spent the last couple of days clearing the studio out; the spider breeding programme was going too well, I thought it would be a good idea to post a couple of photographs whilst the floor, table and sofa were not piled high with paper, journals and sundry other essentials.

It is amazing how much stuff you can hide under a table. It will look this pristine for the next couple of days and then revert to its usual chaos.

I snapped these this evening and when I uploaded the photos, was amused to see that I had left the gin & tonic on the paper cabinet. I am rather fond of the gin & tonic end of the studio and its where I do my thinking - and take the odd siesta.

One of the main reasons for the clear-out is the decision not to paint for a while and concentrate on printmaking - so here goes...

The Gum Arabic Arrived

After a severe bout of internetitis in the last few weeks, I have finally recovered enough to get on with some serious print work.

Yesterday, I moved on with A Sense of Place project, after experimenting endlessly with the bottle in the window idea I found it kept running into a blank wall and came back to this little image of the pansy - I really like its simplicity. The initial scribbled drawing began before Christmas and has been rumbling along in various guises since. The combination with the pansy leaf seems to work well.

I am now working with hue changes in Adobe and have run off a series with subtle changes and on different papers. I will experiment with printing onto canvas this week.

And back to the title of the post. I have been meaning to get around to some gum litho lifts for ages and at long last got around to contacting the suppliers. That is the plan anyway. I think I will see what happens to this little image during gum litho lift and report back with the image - good or bad!