Strumble Head Lighthouse variations

Day 3 of the Ian's workshop and the 4 colour reduction linocut of Strumble Head lighthouse in Pembrokeshire suddenly came together. Because we used graduations of 2 colours on 3 of the 4 layers, there look to be more colours in the prints than you might expect. The colours were mixed by Ian and standard to all 3 of the workshop participants, so that we focused more on tone than colour - a useful exercise. As some of the graduations were reversed, there are variations in the series of 4 prints. They each have lessons for the next time, but I'm pleased with the results. Let me know if you have a preference!

Linocut of Portnahaven on Islay

Day 1 of Ian Phillips' workshop in Machynlleth, we worked on a black and white lino cut. I chose to work up an image of Islay that I sketched last year during the Islay Whisky Festival, looking over the small cove at Portnahaven. I've included below the print, the plate, the simplified sketch used to translate it to lino, the original sketch - and finally a reference photo of the same spot. They reflect the many adjustments and choices in developing a lino print...

Linocutting in Wales

Spent a great day today cutting an A4 mono lino design on a linocut printmaking workshop in Machynlleth, in Wales, with Ian Phillips. He does some amazing  large scale work - A2 upwards - and is clearly influenced by his experience of printing with Torres Strait Islander printmakers in Australia. Looking forward to day 2!

Kevin Holdaway's talk and demo at Hot Bed Press

On Friday night I went along to Hot Bed Press in Salford for Kevin Holdaway's talk and demo, which I found fascinating. It was great to see his enthusiasm and passion for linocuts shared with such a big crowd.

Kevin has an exhibition on at the moment at Stockport Art Gallery, which I got along to today: http://stockportartgalleryproject.com/kevin-holdaway/ including some great images of Manchester and Stockport:

Some prints have 33 colours - mind boggling! I really enjoyed the talk and picked up some great tips. Particularly interesting to see the condition of the lino plates at the end of the reduction process, the templates and the record of printing dates and colours.

Thanks for a really interesting evening - and a great insight into techniques developed over 30 years. Loved it! My personal favourite remains the original inspiration in Florence: