A new 20:20 linocut all ready to go!

How quickly another year comes round! It's not long until the deadline for submitting work to this year's 20:20 print exchange, organised by Hot Bed Press. I've just finished my multi-plate linocut 'Into the Woods' edition of 25, which will be one of a set of prints from Prospect Studios.

'Into the Woods' original linocut by Carolyn Murphy

This original print is based on a sketch of Welsh woodlands, which I did a few years ago. I loved the mix of rock and undergrowth, light and shadows.

Over 500 artists from more than 40 print studios across the UK and beyond are expected to take part again this year, with work touring and on display on-line.

To see more of my work, please check out my website: www.carolynmurphy.co.uk where you will also find an online Shop with currently available work. Thanks!

7th Warrington Contemporary Open Art Exhibition

I went along last week to check out Warrington Museum and Art Gallery's 2017 Contemporary Open art exhibition, which runs until Saturday 28 October, as part of Warrington Arts Festival.
It's an exciting and well presented exhibition in a fabulous space on the 2nd floor - and it provides a great contrast to the predominantly traditional works on the level below.

Warrington Contemporary Open 2017

Shot from the exhibition opening night

 

My monoprint 'Hidden Depths' was one of around 40 works by local and regional artists selected by the panel and it was great to see artwork by other printmakers so well represented.

'Hidden Depths' on the gallery wall

Work by Cate Gibson

Work by Kaye Wilson (foreground)

I particularly loved the printmaking work on display by Cate Gibson, Kaye Wilson and Tracy Hill. Tracy's work below won the main award.

Award-winning work by Tracy Hill

I'd highly recommend a visit, if you're in the area.

To see more of my work, please check out my website: www.carolynmurphy.co.uk where you will also find an online Shop with currently available work. Thanks!

In the Warrington Contemporary Open Exhibition

My original monoprint 'Hidden Depths' will be part of this year's Warrington Contemporary Open art exhibition, opening on Friday 29 September and running until Saturday 28 October at Warrington Museum & Art Gallery.

I hope you get the chance to pop along to see contemporary work selected by the judges from artists from Warrington and the surrounding areas. It's part of Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival 2017.

To see more of my work, please check out my website: www.carolynmurphy.co.uk where you will also find an online Shop with currently available work. Thanks!

Lino printing on fabric

On Saturday, I held my first ever workshop on linocut printing onto fabric in the Lake District - with the huge support of local artist Geraldine Walkington. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing my learning to date with our 5 attendees and we had a hands-on session printing onto a wide range of fabrics and getting some great results.

A few attendees were new to lino cutting completely and others were already highly skilled printmakers. Feedback was very positive and as you can see from the photos below, we had a fun afternoon and produced some lovely work.

 

The group printed onto cotton, as well as upholstery fabric and even leather.

 

 

We used water-based textile medium and acrylic paint, inking up with foam rollers.

 

 

In a short period of time, some lovely work was created... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To see more of my work, please check out my website: www.carolynmurphy.co.uk where you will also find an online Shop with currently available work. Thanks!

 

Japanese Woodblocks in Malaga

 'Japon - Grabados y Objetos de Arte' caught my eye while I was seeing friends in Malaga. The exhibition at the Museo Carmen Thyssen in the city centre featured a small collection of fabulous late 18th century and early 19th century ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock prints by masters, such as Hokusai and Hiroshige. All the works came from the Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao and were originally collected by private collector Jose Palacio.

Carmen Thyseen Museum, Malaga

The exhibition space itself was stunning. And it was fantastic to see printmaking on show here. The photos below are not great quality as it was very hard to capture with the reflections from the lights, however these will at least remind me of a fantastic day and beautiful, delicate work.

Craftman's shop near Mount Fuji, by Hokusai

The Elegant Set of the Hunter, by Eizan

Fuchu, by Hiroshige

Komachi Beseeching the Rain, by Toyokuni

My Print for Twitter Art Exhibition 2017 (#TAE17)

This year's Twitter Art Exhibition raises money for a UK children's charity Molly Olly's Wishes. The charity art sale is on Saturday 1 April - and I'm hoping my gecko linocut will help the cause.
I've included below some images of the postcard in development. Entitled 'Sticky Feet', rather unusually for me, it is a multi-plate reduction: 2 plates and 4 colours. I hadn't combined the multi-plate and reduction techniques before, so it was a little high risk! Fortunately I didn't have to resort to plan B and my gecko arrived safe and well in Stratford-on-Avon on time.

Above is the finished postcard, with all 4 colours. Process shots and some of the earlier stage images are below:

I printed on 300gsm card and cut the border off at the end to achieve and image 16 x 12 cm (postcard size) to allow for easier printing. The ink I'm using here is water soluble Graphic Chemical ink. I hope you enjoy seeing the image emerge bit by bit. The idea was prompted by the butterfly in the Molly Olly's Wishes logo. It reminded me of a trip to a butterfly house, where a gorgeous green gecko was looking on through glass. Later I looked into what geckos enjoy eating - you guessed it, butterflies were on the list!

To see more of my work, please check out my website: www.carolynmurphy.co.uk where you will also find an online Shop with currently available work. Thanks!

Prospect Printmakers in Clitheroe

Running until the end of March, Prospect Printmakers are exhibiting at Longitude Gallery in Clitheroe. I have 2 framed prints on display - 'Hard at Work' and 'Barn Owl' as well as unframed work in the browsers.

It's a lovely space and a fabulously varied exhibition, dedicated to printmaking in all its forms. Over 20 artists have work on show, including original prints by Alan Birch, Jill Randall, Peter Cave, Lorraine and Chris Waites, Gary Thomas and many more.

 

Work is for sale. Please do pop along to the exhibition if you are in the area.

To see more of my work, please check out my website: www.carolynmurphy.co.uk where you will also find an online Shop with currently available work. Thanks!

What a Great Print Exhibition!

It was a great day out! On a really wet and windy day today, we visited the second annual Great Print Exhibition, at the Rheged Centre near Penrith, on its final day. I'm so glad we made the effort, as the space was fantastic, the work inspiring and the exhibition was busy. It runs from the end of November to the end of February, with sales before and after Christmas - and the response has been excellent, I'm told.

With work from many well-known printmakers, a good number of Cumbrian print artists and a wide spread from across the UK, it was great to see so much high quality work in one place, well presented and well lit, with unframed work also available in browsers.

Some photos below will give you a feel for the exhibition and some of my own personal favourites.

To see my own work, please check out my website: www.carolynmurphy.co.uk where you will also find an online Shop with currently available work. Thanks!

Longitude Gallery exhibition in Clitheroe

At the moment I have a number of pieces of work, framed and unframed linocuts, in an exhibition of printmaking running until March 30th in Clitheroe, Lancashire. Over 20 artists from Rossendale-based printmaking studio, Prospect Studios, are exhibiting work across a wide range of printmaking techniques.

On Saturday 4th March you can come along and meet many of the artists and enjoy the exhibition and some refreshments. Please join us if you can between 1pm and 4pm. Sadly, I'm not going to be able to be there - but please do come along and take a look. Alan Birch and the rest of the team will make you very welcome! For more info, see the gallery website www.thelongitudegallery.co.uk

Bury Art Museum show 'Feared and Farcical Futures' opens Friday

Prospect Printmakers have responded to Bury Art Museum's theme 'Feared and Farcical Futures' with an exhibition of work around the Ring Balcony Exhibition space.

The Opening is on  Friday 27th January 5 - 8 pm (with work on display until 20th May 2017). All welcome! If you are in the Bury area, please do come along.

My finished work 'Darkness' (above) is on display and for sale, with other unframed work available in the browsers. I'm looking forward to seeing the full exhibition, which features sci-fi and dystopian themed prints, collagraphs and etchings, all available to buy.

'Darkness' was created using the reduction linocut process, in 3 stages, after an initial prototype. I've included below some reference shots taken on my phone, of the early stages.



Early prototype to test initial idea



First stage gradation



Variable edition - exploring different colour-ways

The edition is a variable edition of 3 and draws on ideas of catastrophe, the race to colonise space, and suggests an abandoned 'spent' planet. I've tried to reflect what I love about dark skies, imagining a future when they return to their vast, fundamental beauty.

 The opening event is part of Bury Art Museum's Friday Lates and 'Thank Art It's Friday' drawing events. See the events page for more information

20:20 Exhibition Touring during 2017

Throughout 2017, the Hot Bed Press organised 20:20 print exchange will be touring the UK, sharing the work of 508 artists from 39 print workshops, this year including prints from Hong Kong and Australia for the first time.

I submitted 2 print editions this year - a bit crazy I know! Images below. One was through Hot Bed Press in Salford, where I'm a member, and another through Prospect Studio in Rossendale, where I printed most often in 2016.

'Meandering' is a 2 plate linocut, based on a sketch for print that I did looking over the stunning Dovey Estuary in mid Wales, just outside Aberdovey / Aberdyfi and Machynllyth.

Above is 'Adjusting the Sails', another 2 plate linocut, this edition using a technique of scratching into lino to create tone, something I experimented with after seeing the Picasso linocuts at Lady Lever Gallery last year. The name of the print is based on a quote from a lovely card given to me by a former colleague: "We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails".

The entire collection can be viewed online, along with prints from previous years, on flickr:
www.flickr.com/photos/hotbedpress/

Venues for the touring exhibition can be found at www.2020printexchange.com