D.Day 3 Yarrabah

Had a really interesting trip up to Yarrabah, an aboriginal community situated on the headland across the bay from Cairns.

Really good drive down the coast south for about half an hour then it's across the bottom of the bay and back up for another half an hour.

Pretty ramshackle area and pretty ramshackle school. We were followed in by a police can. Turned out it was CSI as there had been a break in. Wire cut glass smashed, blood everywhere. All to steal some condoms they give away free anyway.

One child arrived then left. Elizabeth, senior printer at Djumbunji, went and got a teacher who rounded up some more. Four kids arrived and reluctantly wandered in to the classroom. Then wandered out again. Sat down, got up, cut a bit of lino. Elizabeth did very well trying to get them to stay but it was like herding cats.

Thing was when they actual gave us a piece of vinyl to print it was usually something really interesting. As soon as it was printed they lost interest. "do you want to cut some more?"
"no"
"You finished"
"yep"

The picture belongs to one of the school children. We took the vinyl back to Djumbunji to print up on the proper press. Elizabeth was busy so I printed it up this Monday the 24th.

Looks pretty good. The drive back was equally spectacular. Snatched glimpses through the trees of yellow sandy beaches fringed by palm trees. Stripes of turquoise sea. Views across the bay to Cairns. Starting to get a bit if an itch to get out drawing.

Tomorrow, Thursday my first meeting with Brian Robinson.

Djumbunji Day 2.

Got a lift in this morning from Elizabeth the senior printer. I think they were worried I would go walkabout again and wanted to make sure I turned up this time. As I was waiting for Billy Missy to arrive I wanted to start doing something. I had a nice little itty bitty sketch of an Ibis from my Monday morning walk through the Botanical Gardens which face Djumbunji. That will do.

Managed to scan in, enlarge and print out my Ibis while all the Kickarts staff had a meeting discussing the forthcoming budget cuts to the arts. It sounded horribly familiar.

I was surprisingly nervous waiting for Billy to arrive. I felt he wanted me to turn out a perfect exhibition ready print first time with strange inks on a huge press while showing him how to do a reduction print with cross graduation. Probably made worse the anticipation of not knowing exactly when he was arriving. I spent the whole day watching the door and the clock while playing with my Ibis. As it was he didn't show up at all and I had a great idea for the Ibis.

It is a black and white bird which I though would work well as a print. Where the black parts are I'm going to do a bit of a repeat pattern of my own. Based on the thorns running along the edge of palm tree fronds. A bit of a pale blue/brown shadow along the belly and then the white back something special. A little bit of embossing. I'll cut a delicate feather pattern, offset print it onto a zinc plate, stop it out with tar, bite the plate then pass the Lino through the press with the zinc plate in position. It should then emboss the pattern into the paper to give a delicate white on white feathered look to the bird. Exciting.

Billy is coming back on Monday. I think I walk before I can run. We'll do an experimental hand printed picture first before we get onto the big boys prints and the big boy press.

Tomorrow a trip to an Aboriginal community school at Yarrabah for some Lino.

First days at Djumbunji

I've done two days at the Djumbunji print workshop now. The first day I just sat around chatting, getting used to the space and scribbling in my sketchbook trying to look like not just an artist/printmaker of international standing but a busy international artist.

I was a bit late on Monday. Having got dropped of too early to go in to the press I thought 'I know I'll have a bit of a stroll down to that art shop I saw on Sunday to buy a new sketchbook.How far can it be?'

Well three sweaty hours, a bottle of water and two blisters later I turned up at Djumbunji to hear they were about to send out a search party. I'd missed loads of artists who had turned up unscheduled to see the Welsh boy. The only one left was an artist called Billy Missy. Billy currently adds colour by hand tinting and is quite interested in adding colour reduction to his skills.

We had a bit of a chat and discussed his idea for a print. I then got a lift from Beverley, the General Manager at Kick Arts the Centre that runs the Djumbunji Press, to see the Brian Robinson exhibition at the main Kick Arts Gallery.

Very interesting mix of Traditional printmaking with contemporary references. The Hokusai wave being a particular favourite of mine, of course. I liked the in inclusion of a Nautilus as Jules Verne has a section where Captain Nemo runs aground in the Torres Strait. I'll be working with Brian on Thursday.

Off to Australia.

After all the organising, producing work for two exhibitions, finishing as much of the Work on our house renovation as possible before I go it's time.

I am currently relaxing in Green Park before ambling off to the Piccadilly line for the tube to Heathrow.

I am flying to Cairns for a six week print residency working with the wonderful Lino cut artists of the Djumbunji print workshop. Both Aborigjnal and Torres Strait Islands artist are going to show me what, why and how they do what they do. In return I am going to be demonstrating the colour reduction method I use. There will be a lot of chatting about print, printing and wandering about the exotic landscape of northern Queensland with a sketchbook.
I'm hoping to keep this blog more up to date and immediate, freed as I am from the daily grind.
Right off to catch my tube.

Oh the next picture in the oystercatcher series I printed with my newly covered Baren turned out okay.

Re-covering that *+%* Baren

I was long overdue recovering my baren. So long overdue in fact that I had bought three more of them to avoid having to recover each one as it wore out. So I am now the proud owner of four worn out barens.
I did have a first go a while ago and it took me over three hours and about 6 replacement skins to end up with, well it wasn't pretty but it did the job.

With thanks to Andy Bull from his website The Barenforum for the notes on how to recover your baren and other general print related info. http://www.barenforum.org/

This is halfway through the attempt;

Cut, trimmed and wrapped each side, folded the edges over, twisted the two arms tight and then knotted it together.

Not particularly too neat on the back but looks okay on the business side:

Well it did look okay until it mans up with one of the original Barens. Then it is painfully obvious just how shoddy my wrapping and tying off really is. The important thing though is that it does the job.

But even that one, as it was a bit loose on the tying off, hasn't lasted that long. So time for attempt number two.

I have a selection of bamboo skins which have to be sorted out to find one lacking any rips, making sure it's not too thin or too thick. This has to then be soaked under a running tap until it is soft and pliable. Then wrapped in a towel and, I kid you not, huffed over. Apparently the warm breath huffing down the tube of wrapped skin and towel further warms and softens the skin. Which allows you, apparently, to lay it on your board and stretch it. This is the bit where it is really easy to rip it. I lost about four the first time round. This time only the one went. Then it's trim one of the arms out and start the really hard bit;

I found I didn't have enough fingers to fold, pinch, hold and twist at the same time as keeping the pressure on the whole thing.

I did manage to pull the arms tight and tie them both off. Last time I didn't get this far and just knotted the two strands together. Doesn't look to hard but is one of the most dexterously difficult things I have attempted. The little Japanese fella who knocks these out must have fingers like steel bars.

Tidied up by cutting off the excess from the arms. The idea then is that as it dries out it pulls taut like a drum Again doesn't look to bad, especially when it is compared to my first attempt. Again though it starts looking a bit shoddy when you put one of the original 'properly' done barens in there. Still the important thing is that it works and I have printed with it since the end of May, which includes two courses and another four or five of my own prints. It may of helped that as I went to put a small  amount of camellia oil on the face of the baren, the whole lid came off and nearly half the pot glurped over the baren, the wooden board and the table. Did the chopping board a world of good as well.

Now I have a new-ish baren time to get on with the next print. Here goes.

May course inspiration...

After printing my Oystercatcher 1 and meeting my new paper love while printing the Robin it's back to the real world of my once monthly linocut workshops. This time we had Tracey a Motion Designer/Animator and Nick a retired teacher of teachers. I always get a bit nervous having teachers on the course. Not sure why, perhaps I feel they will be mentally marking my teacher methods, or lack there of, and maybe even slip out the odd tutting noise at my lack of 'proper' teaching technique. Of course they are all far too polite to do such I thing but what if they find out I'm not a teacher after all but merely an artist taking a workshop! Detention for a million years, then extra homework.

As usual for all those that come on the courses they get straight down to listening to my ramblings, drawing up idea and producing a blizzard of lino shavings as they began to cut their black and white. Tracey, perhaps as an art professional was very confident, even a bit gung-ho and her great attitude was summed up in the phrase; " lets give it a go." Which she said to pretty much all of my suggestions.

She had some lovely images of Durdle door and we looked at old woodcuts for ideas of patterns to use then she was off cutting away and managing to use just about all of them. I think this is a really strong richly patterned, atmospheric print and, as I always do, feel quite inspired to actually do a black and white print of my own. Rather than just telling other people to do them.

Tracey Aston - Durdle Door

After the success of the B/W we decided to use the same drawing for the colour print to see the difference strengths and otherwise between B/W and colour. Again Tracey was quite confident and tried cutting a two toned pattern in her sky to suggest clouds and then got all carried away again over the cutting of the pebbles. That I understand, I love spending hours cutting the pebbles on a beach, after a while it gets really Zen.

As with the B/W a really lovely strong print. The yellow sky to blue works really well and as I mixed the colours I feel okay about stealing this particular combination for a future print. I did admit to Nick and Tracey that one of the main reasons I have the courses, other than to maintain some semblance of social contact with people, is to be exposed to new ideas, inspirations and ways of looking at the world that I can then steal for my own work. I think they thought I was joking.

Nick as an obviously very competent teacher teacher was much more cautious, deliberate and thoughtful over his print than Tracey. Though it was a bit of a Tortoise and the Hare, as they pretty much finished at the same time - ish.

Nick had an interesting print of a Cotswold cottage which didn't immediately shout out as an effective subject for a lino. With a bit of tweaking, we thought, it may work. Nick was also labouring under the obvious handicap of having no cricket to listen to while working and having me hurrying him on while being showered by a cascade of lino shavings from Tracey across the table. His black and white, while it did work strongly as a print had areas he wasn't totally happy with. We also used the same drawing for the colour to show the comparison and allow Nick to work on those areas he wasn't happy with. Nick also had a bit of a concern, as a lot of people on the course do, over the use of colour. So I initially told him we would choose a simple ochre like colour and just darken it down for each layer to show how the layering worked in reduction without stressing about choosing colours. I sort of lied.

After using the same initial colour as Tracey, a warm golden brown, I informed Nick he would be using the same selection as Tracey. To demystify colour he wouldn't even get to choose/agonise over his own, we would use Traceys cast-offs as he called them, to show how effective apparently random colours can be.
 Also I think the idea of using golden brown, blue ( teal?) and then a deep purple would have been a bit worrying. Here is Nicks colour print, which I think you will agree is absolutely lovely. It has a great variety of texture, depth and really feels like a scene from a story. I want to see the rest of the book from which it appears this print has been lifted!
The stone wall in the foreground works very well and has a real weight and presence to it that sets the tone for the rest of the print and contrasts well with the lighter cutting further in to the print.

Well done both, and I look forward to seeing new work from both of them in the future. Oh and Nick was very complimentary about my teaching technique, even when he didn't do any homework!

Course over it's back to my own prints, and Oystercatcher 2 which I transfered to the lino and then with course suggestions still in my  head I coloured in all the white areas directly on the lino. Something I suggest to coursees  to help see how the white section of the print will look and where to print. As there is so much white on this print it does help and I quite like colouring direct onto the lino.

Really happy with my little beach bound Oystercatcher. More on them and the progress of this print soon. Next blog though something I tried a while ago and had to have another go at Friday gone before I can print this picture, or any other.

Yes I can put it of no longer, I have to recover my Baren. HELP......

April course inspiration

Did I mentioned that the sky in my first Oystercatcher print, see previous post, was inspired by the American woodcut artist J.J Lankes after Robert, Bob, on the April course used his sky as a background for his colour print. I think I did. I also said I would post the pictures from the course later. Well here is later.

As a consequence of showing the work of old J.J to Bob for his inspiration I had another good look at the fella myself. The more you look the more subtlety you see and I like the silvery tonal quality he achieves in his black and white scenes of midwest america.

I did tell Bob that it was highly likely I would steal his idea to be inspired by JJ and use something similar in my next print. Luckily he seemed quite relaxed by the idea.

Here is Bob's bird with the linear background suggested by Mr Lankes:

Of course rather than a black and white we dropped a graduation over the background, but it lightens the colour in a really nice way. The other person on the course, Sarah, also did a bird but with a completely different, decorative feel:

There is a wonderful simplicity in the design and limited colour which shows of the strengths of linocut very well. It is such a graphic image I can see it as wrapping paper, a card, a fabric print even a rich exotic wallpaper. Direct all enquiries to me and I will pass them on. As always I am impress and gratified by the quality of prints produced by beginners in a couple of days. So well done to both Sarah and Bob for working hard and coming up with two very effective and attractive prints.