Artist Support Pledge

Dark Skies

UPDATE: Many of these work are now available as open edition fine art prints from £40 from my Saatchi gallery profile page with world wide shipping.

I'm a self-confessed Instagram fan. As an artist, I love the visual interface for sharing and admiring the work of others. Over the last weeks, I have been made aware of the artist support pledge. This was started by artist Matthew Burrows, who encouraged artists to support each other and sell affordable artwork during the Covid19 Lockdown.

Abstract Landscape II

The premise is simple. Artists sell pieces of their work for less than £200/ $200 (not including shipping). When an artist has made £1000 from sales they pledge to buy another artist's work for up to £200.

Blue Seas, Blue skies

I've decided to take part in this pledge. These pieces are all available framed (until I run out) at £120 including UK postage. Each of these pieces are approx 20 x 20cm mixed media piece on paper and are part of my Seaspace collection.

Abstract Landscape I

Seaspace is a body of work that celebrates the coast of North East England, where I live. These pieces represent the Sea and local landscapes that bring me joy and life. The sunlit sparkling water or the dark stormy sea and sky. It's a place I call home.

Abstract Landscape III

Abstract Purple Landscape

Blue Skies Over land

Storm

I breathe in the sea

Gelli printing - finally getting to grips with it

Earlier this week my daughter asked if we could have an art day. She took Art at GCSE last year but hasn't really done much since. Initially, she wanted to join me in printing. Then she decided that she wanted to overpaint a portrait she did last year. However, when she saw I had some big paper she decided to draw a simple outline portrait of her favourite member of the group 'Road Trip'. (It's a teenager thing!)

So off she went with her drawing, asking for a bit of help now and again and I started with my printmaking. I think if I were to go and do my Art education at this point in my life I'd do print. There is something so immediate and unexpected about the outcomes and with mono-printing it a far more painterly technique - which suits me down to the ground. I think at some point I would love to find out more about local artist Rebecca Vincent's technique as its very controlled, she uses many layers and a big printing press. I work on the dining table and I don't have a press!

I usually use oil-based block printing inks, which have a long working time but can also take several days to dry. I was drawn to trying a Gelli plate as I had read that you can get a really nice print from them just using acrylic paint, but they are not suitable for oil-based inks. So a couple of years ago I had a Gelli plate for Christmas and give it a try, unfortunately, I was rather disappointed with the results. I used a lot of paint and it dried so quickly it was almost unworkable - this was a real shock when I'm so used to the long working time you have with oil-based inks.

Last year, when on a course for work I was introduced to block printing medium and textile medium. The block printing medium is added to the paint in equal amounts and extends the working time and gives a better print consistency. I tried this out with traditional monoprint techniques and a small press and it worked very well. My mum bought me some of the block printing medium for last Christmas and today was the first time I've given it a go. It was the perfect day to print with this technique as it was warm enough that I didn't need the heating on, but cool enough so that the paint wouldn't dry out too quickly.

I had no plan for what type of prints I was going to make. It was purely an opportunity to experiment with techniques and materials.

I set up my work station with a range of different papers, collage materials, rollers, spatulas and cloths. I also set up the clothes airer to dry the prints on.

I found that it's quite easy to layer the prints - mainly as the paint dries quickly. I also quite like that the paint can layer on the plate and this can create some interesting effects. I used a few stencils and other items for masking out areas but found that they're not as effective as my normal method. What I did like was the painterly quality you can get with this type of printing. and I liked being able to draw into the ink with the spatulas and create different effects.

Overall I'm pleased with the results and I created over 30 prints. Most of these will form collage materials, which will be layered and cut to create other artworks. One or two of the pieces work well on their own and some of the others will need working back into with other art materials to make them into something I'm happy with.

I still think I like the oil-based inks best, but I can clean this lot up and have it all away by the end of the day - which is a bonus when there are 5 of us in the house and space is at a premium. Which of these do you like best?

Recent Art Adventures

It kind of makes sense that as an Art teacher I enjoy Artmaking. This is true, although I don't often spend as much time creating as I would like. It takes a while to get all my materials out and set up, so I have to plan to spend a whole day making if I'm doing this at home and I take up A. Lot. Of. Space. when I'm working. My sewing, on the other hand, is usually confined to a much smaller area, unless I'm cutting out and therefore is easier to pick up and do a bit at a time. so I always take opportunities to attend workshops when I can.

Last week I have been fortunate to attend some CPD at The Northern School of Art at Hartlepool (formerly known as Cleveland College of Art & Design). It was a bit of a trek from school, but well worth it and it was inspiring to see the degree shows at the same time.

The CPD was focussed on printmaking with found objects. The instructor was Helen from Northern Print and she went over a range of different printing processes and how we could achieve effective results in the classroom, with or without a press.

As often happens I found myself drawn to the monotype processes. I don't know if it more to do with the painterly aspects of this type of printing or the immediacy and unpredictability of the technique that I like. I played with the layering of textures and shapes, using both hand printing and the press to achieve different results.

What was new to me was using a printing medium for using with acrylic paint. I was pleasantly surprised how long the paint stayed open with the medium added. I think I will buy some to use with my Gelli plate at home as I have found the fast acrylic drying time limiting when working with the Gelli plate. When I make monoprints at home I usually use oil-based ink, which I have grown to love but it can take a long time for the inks to dry and then there is the cleaning up!

I am constantly drawn to printmaking and would love to pursue this further, especially textile printing methods.

On Saturday we also had our monthly crafternoon and I decided to start a painting. So I took along some paints and some design ideas I've been working on and began to create the underpainting. I go from excited to bored very quickly and I'm starting to realise that I like my paintings to have textural qualities and at the moment this work is far too flat and the colours and layout are not quite right. Over the coming weeks, I will be adding to this to start to bring it to life. I really do like to work with mixed media and would love to bring some stitch into this work at some point. Watch this space!

It's always amazing to see how my preferences and ways of working change and develop over time. I wonder where this will go next?