Behind the Scenes on 'September Evening'

For this year's 20:20 print exchange I decided to capture a familiar and favourite view. It's one I've seen a lot of during recent lockdowns and on a warm, summer evening, it's hard to beat. Nothing exotic - it's the view to the west from our own backyard in Manchester. Our own little space, haven and outside space. From here we have watched the bats and the International Space Station fly over regularly. The shared garden behind has mature trees, hedgehog residents and an insect hotel, amongst other things.

I've included below some reference photos I took - both day and evening to guide me:

One of the trickiest challenges was how to take the image over the edges of the paper and register consistently. Thank you to printmakers on Facebook's Linocut Friends site for suggestions and tips! I finally went for face down registration - using a basic template. 

I then started by testing gradation colours, to explore how best to create a good illusion of twilight. After deciding on a composition and what to include and leave out, I finalised the design and transferred it to the lino in pencil. The cutting was fairly intricate - especially the section with the leaves. You can see some work in progress shots here:

Trying alternative colours

Starting to cut the lino plate

The tree section starts to emerge

Initial cutting completed

From here I proofed the plate in the my chosen colour way, removed and refined elements to clean up the image. Once I was happy with a proof image, it was time to print the full 20:20 edition of 25 for Prospect Printmakers submissions.

First rough proof

Later proof

One of the challenges I spotted late was that printing right to the edges means you can't peg prints up, which is my normal route. Maybe I finally need to look at flat drying racks after all! In the meantime, I have all the edition drying on the studio floor. And the gorgeous studio cat is temporarily banned! This is how the edition developed:

The gradation - printed from a plain lino block

Printing the edition

The finished linocut edition - drying on the floor

The plate and the image together

Making 'Crosby Beach' linocut

This linocut started a while ago with a visit to Crosby Beach to see Antony Gormley's 'Another Place' sculpture installation, 100 cast iron figures over more than a mile of beach, all staring out to sea. It has an eerie feel, with some figures half submerged in the water, or in the sandy beach itself, some covered in seaweed and barnacles, one even wearing a Liverpool football shirt!

The figures are all life-size and moulded from Sir Antony Gormley's own body. They look out to sea, where the flow of oil tankers and container ships come in to the Port of Liverpool, nearby.  

The beach was busy with dog walkers and tourists on the day I visited. As the tide comes in, some of the figures are full submerged. I wanted to capture this strange place, on the edge of an industrial heartland, in a new linocut. 'Another Place' was a regeneration project, and has been hugely popular, bringing visitors to the area. It's a difficult place to capture because of the emptiness! I chose a composition with multiple figures and the reflections in the pools on the beach, and included the ships and a few people to bring a sense of space and try to capture the feel of Crosby Beach. 

Here are some images of the linocut in development. I used a gradation and was keen to capture the textures and shadows on the figures and in the sand.

Planning and cutting the 4 plates

A gradation from sand to sky

Early stage proof, printing plate 2

More cutting, revisions and a later stage proof

A final proof

Starting to print the edition in my studio

'Crosby Beach' is not yet available, so this will give you an idea of a project that is coming soon.