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:

Stockport Open Contemporary Images

Today I visited Stockport Art Gallery - perfect for a rainy Sunday! I've included some pictures of my own work and also some of my favourite pieces below...well the ones I could take pictures of, as this can be tricky with the lighting and reflections of natural light. Enjoy!

'Bridgewater Canal' etching & aquatint

'Hideaway' original 3 colour lino cut (centre top)

The lino cut below is by Kevin Holdaway, winner of the SKarts Award with another lino print. This one attracted me because of the unusual approach and fascinating cut marks. 

Below is another favourite - a close up of a watercolour by David Evans, called 'Lifting Clouds':

And finally an oil painting by one of the judges this year, Rob Miller:

Stockport Open Contemporary is OPEN!

The Stockport Open Contemporary Exhibition is in its third year and runs until Sunday 31 August 2013. I have 2 works in again this year - an etching 'Bridgewater Canal' on the ground floor gallery and a 3 colour lino print 'Hideaway' in the upstairs gallery.

It's a lovely, varied exhibition, primarily featuring artists from across the North West - admission is free and most work is for sale. Come along and have a look!

I'll be adding photos shortly. It's great to see the SKarts Award go to printmaker Kevin Holdaway's work 'Athenian rooftops with Lykavittos' which was one of my own favourites.

Save Stockport Art Gallery!

Stockport Council is planning to close Stockport Art Gallery & War Memorial during the week, instead they propose to open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons only. The council will also end temporary and community exhibitions at Stockport Art Gallery & War Memorial, which it has done since opening in 1925.

SKarts have revitalised the Stockport Open Contemporary exhibition in the last few years - and fear that this will be the death of the gallery because there will be nothing to draw the public to it. It is also an issue of great regional importance because Stockport Art Gallery & War Memorial is one of the few public galleries in the region where emergent artists can exhibit their work. As someone who has benefited from the chance to exhibit, I would love to see Stockport Council review this plan and support local art and artisits.

The Open Contemporary is now OPEN!

The Open Contemporary art exhibition 2012 at Stockport Art Gallery opened to the public today. I had a peaceful and enjoyable look round today. And couldn't help buying a couple of pieces of work - a beautiful oak bowl by Paul Jones and a small oil painting of Styal Country park by Stephen Jones.

Yesterday's Preview Night was packed out, the band was playing and awards were presented early in the evening. This year the exhibition spreads over both levels - which is a real improvement - and it feels like there's a lot of work there. You get an idea of the exhibition from the photos below. I hope you get the chance to come along!

Stockport Open Contemporary 2012

I'm delighted to have had 2 prints accepted this year into the Stockport Open Contemporary art exhibition. It opens to the public on Saturday 12 May - and goes through until June 24. And it's free!

You can see the prints below - and if you get the chance to visit, please look out for "Kata Tjuta" and "No beaten path".

"No beaten path" is a 2 plate linocut with an etching over the top. The image is from one of my sketches of a mid Wales landscape. The linocuts are printed in oil-based inks onto canaletto 300g paper, which proved strong and even enough to withstand wetting, in order to print the etching plate over the top.

"Kata Tjuta" is created through 2 processes using water-based ink and printed entirely by hand. The colours reflect the heat and hues of central Australia. Firstly I hand-painted aboriginal-inspired designs onto a perspex plate to create unique backgrounds, then I overprinted my linocut design of the Olgas (Kata Tjuta), allowing the 2 layers to interact and capture the clash and interplay of cultures.

Stockport Open Contemporary Art Exhibition until 14 August 2011

I'm really excited every time I visit the Stockport Art Gallery's new Open Contemporary Art Exhibition. It's in a fantastic airy, quite traditional space - and is very contemporary. It has a lively, welcoming feel and covers so many media. My Scottish Sheep linocut also greets me from a wonderfully prominent spot opposite the entrance!

The exhibition has been organised this year by Skarts (Stockport artists) with a prestigious panel of judges. There were over 750 pieces of artwork submitted for selection and around 150 of these entries made it to the walls of Stockport Art Gallery, on the main A6. If you haven't visited it yet, it's well worth going. The Open runs until Sunday 14 August (gallery closed Mondays and weekday mornings) - and many of the artworks are for sale. Click here for a link to the exhibition.

I was interested by the number of printmaking works on display, from linocuts to etchings - including from other Hot Bed Press print workshop members. It was great to see such exposure for original prints in this showcase of North West contemporary art.