This is a new reduction linocut of some flowers in a vase. It’s soooo bright and colourful. The photo is quite faithful to how the print appears in real life. I’ve mixed my own pinks and purple rather than using pigment straight from the tube. It was so satisfying to do.
These are dry now. I’m adding them to my Etsy shop this weekend- just in time for Valentine’s Day. These hot pinks and rich purples are very romantic! If you need a gift for someone special who might like flowers that won’t die or cause allergies, check out this new linocut.
You can see the process in my tests: One piece of lino, and four layers of colour. I managed to get 10 okay prints. They each have their own little variations in texture and markings, because they are each handprinted. The pink and purple are really lush and vibrant, originally I was going to use blue and I am glad I switched to pink.
This countryside fox (Vulpes vulpes) design is my latest linocut print and my last print of 2021. It’s in a traditional arts and crafts inspired vintage style. I used burnt sienna ink on cream printer’s paper (zerkhall paper). I call him Hubert the Fox. He’s available to buy from my shop now.
The fox went out on a chilly night, he prayed to the Moon to give him light, for he’d many a mile to go that night before he reached the town-o
This is an original, hand printed, hand cut, linoprint. This burnt sienna printed edition is limited to 10.
Always expect little variations in texture and some distinctive impressions within each handprinted limited edition when you print by hand. It does means every print is unique! My process isn’t high tech because I don’t use a press. Designs are created on my living room table with a baren and the back of a wooden spoon.
Happy New Year to you. Do you have any hopes or dreams for 2022? I plan on making more prints and hopefully sell more too. If I’m lucky, it would be lovely to go abroad for a few weeks. Somewhere with mountains and ancient forests would be my ideal trip!
Instead of a reduction print I thought I would try a design using two pieces of lino scraps. I made two separate blocks, a blue and beige design of a cute little night time cottage. I added a lot of extender to my printing inks, so where the layers of colour overlap I get a third colour. Extender ink is basically normal printmakers ink without any pigment. This makes the ink more transparent. I used 50% colour ink and 50% extender in this mix.
I have kept the two separate blocks, so if I want to create another edition in different colours I can do so. This technique isn’t destructive like reduction printing.
Oddly, the photo of this new linocut makes the beige layer look more like a dark orange. When I have framed the artwork I shall have to see if I can take a better image. That’s the trouble with long winter nights. There is never enough light for decent photos! Happy winter solstice x
The Chalice is surrounded by stylised depictions of foxglove, deadly nightshade, hemlock and wolfsbane plants.
Who does this cup belong to? What is in the bottle? The poisoned chalice appears, at first, to be an honour, but in time becomes a myriad of difficult problems. It’s a curse! The phrase is found originally in Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1606).
I decided to add some prints to my Etsy shop that I made during this time last year. I have learned a lot about making linocut prints in just a year. The Chalice was created with certain leaders in government in mind. Imagine lying and cheating your way into power only to have the pandemic come along to reveal you to be a useless, lazy, spoilt little clown.
It’s a deadly serious time. Wouldn’t you rather we had a serious person in charge than a ‘colourful character’ who has never had to experience the consequences of their own actions?
I have added a new listing to my Etsy shop. This reduction print of a winter barn owl. A snowy scene for your walls, just in time for Christmas (great if you are looking for gifts for nature lovers). If you are interested in how I created this limited edition linocut you can read a post about how I make reduction prints.
An outline of my process when I create a linocut reduction print
The sketch of the barn owl design
Firstly I make a sketch in my sketchbook using colour pencils. A different colour for each layer. I trace the image using carbon paper onto my lino. I used Japanese lino for this print. It is double sided, so it can be used again for something totally new on the back.
Linocutting with my assistant
The lino is stuck to a board with carpet tape. It’s secure, the lino won’t move whilst it is being carved. I use ternes burton pins to keep a perfect registration. I use masking tape to hold the tabs on my sheets of white zerkall printer’s paper. Don’t hold the prints by these tabs incase they move.
First layer printed
I use a mask made of tracing paper to prevent unwanted chatter on my print layers.
Tracing paper to stop unwanted ink marks
I carve each layer whilst referring to my original sketch. Here are all four layers.
Four layers that make up the reduction linoprint of the winter barn owl
I hope you have found some useful ideas. If you have any tips for printing using this method do let us know!
Do you feel like you even belong to your local community? Do you get the feeling that you’re engaging less with your neighbours? Maybe you’re interacting more with strangers on social media. Perhaps with people who you haven’t even met with face to face.
We have our immediate family, our work colleagues or school friends, but beyond that? It’s disheartening that people are becoming less connected with their fellow citizens. Aren’t you up to the challenge of making new friends? I think we all feel that society is becoming more divided, but participation in recreational organisations can bring disparate people together.
If you are artistic, Bedford has at least two events every month that everyone is welcome to participate in. These events are free and no ticket or booking is required. You just have to turn up and join in with the creative activity and you get to meet new faces.
The Circus of Illustration
The Circus of Illustration meet on the last Tuesday of every month for a cosy social. They host a drink and draw. It’s simply a creative evening of drawing with a drink! They meet at The Park in Bedford. It starts at 7:30 pm. * Chat with new people who like creative stuff * Do some no-pressure doodling and get inspiration and tips from others * No membership, no signing up, it’s free to just join in * All abilities welcome
Check out these snaps from the Drink and Draw from Tuesday 28th September, 2021. The theme was ‘Back at the Boozer’ because it was the first face to face D&D since the pandemic. They designed their own beer labels, beer mats and beer cans.
Beds Urban Sketchers
The Beds Urban Sketchers meet on the first Saturday of every month in and around Bedford. The location changes each month, so follow them on Facebook to keep up to date.
They draw on location, indoors or out, drawing from direct observation. This means the sketches are a truthful record of a time and place. All styles of drawing are supported and they draw together and share the results at the end with a coffee and a natter. Strangers will come up to you to see what you are doing, but you get used to it. Most of them are interested and pleased to see people doing something different in town. I get lots of smiles when I’m sketching in public. Sure, there are a few morons, but they’re just jealous and they need a cuddle (but not from you. Please don’t touch meatheads).
Photos from Beds Urban Sketchers. A document of Bedford town centre on Saturday 2 October 2021
Getting Together
Meeting people who are older than you, younger than you, who come from different backgrounds and have different life experiences to you will help us all understand each other better in a society where resentments appears to be growing. It’s easier to be kind if you get to know more people who aren’t like you. Join a recreational activity in your area. Or start one if there aren’t any near you! It might not be art and drawing. Meet new folk through sport, music or food, but for the sake of society, please ditch that toxic screen and keyboard and really meet people.
I love my day job as a greetings cards illustrator. I’ve been working from home for over 10 years now and having a creative job that I can do in a five step commute, where I can listen to music and podcasts of my own choosing is just a dream. I have the best colleague too.
My Lovely working from home colleague
Don’t You get Lonely?
I get this question a lot. Working illustrators often have solitary lifestyles, but there is a network of support where I live in Bedford called The Circus of Illustration. We help each other professionally whilst forming friendships. If you live in Bedford or near to Bedford you can participate too, it’s lovely way of new friendly people.
The Circus of Illustration at The Pub.
What is The Circus of Illustration?
We’re a group of professional working illustrators based in Bedfordshire, UK. Collectively we’ve organised local illustration workshops, themed exhibitions and pop-up events. We try to promote illustration for you and we are all volunteers. We want our events to be animated lively spaces bustling with creativity within the community.
The Circus of Illustration host events about design and illustration
So…Got Any Events Coming Up?
Yeah! Drink and Draw is on Tuesday 28th September 2021 at The Park Pub in Bedford. It’s the first one in real life (and off zoom) since the whole world went a bit squiffy in 2020.
Drink and Draw is back at the boozer
What Is Drink and Draw?
We meet in the pub and draw together. That’s it! It’s free and fun and you get to meet lots of new like-minded people. We welcome everyone, you don’t have to be a professional to join in. We usually have a themed drawing activity to get you started. Sometimes a blank white sheet of paper can be intimidating.
If you can’t get to Bedford, maybe you can organise a Drink and Draw for your town! Let us know about your local artistic community.
Stay up to date with The Circus of Illustration by signing up to their mailing list or catch them on facebook and instagram.
Some super quick tips about photographing lino print art (or any art I guess!) to sell. I’m sharing examples from my own shop.
Who Is Your Ideal Customer?
Style the Setting to Appeal to their Imagination
The Verdant Man is a piece of work for nature lovers and the eco-conscious.
The Verdant Man is a piece of work for nature lovers and the eco-conscious. He is inspired by nature, so I used a warm natural wood surface. He’s a folklore icon based on The Green Man- A man of the forest, so I placed pine cones next to the frame too. This also adds a sense of scale.
Including a linocut tool in the picture reminds buyers looking at your work that it’s handmade and gives clues to the way it was created.
Cheeky Picture Frame Tip
I was bending over in uncouth angles trying to avoid unwanted reflections and glare. The solution? Shhh, don’t tell everyone, but omit the glass in the frame when you photograph a framed piece. Who wants to see my ugly shadow lingering over the print? Can anyone tell there’s no glass? The illusion looks more appealing, would anyone care? The print and the detail of the art is framed beautifully without imperfections caused by glass.
A framed copy of Water Street with no glass and no reflections or glare.
Time For A Close Up
You get an opportunity to upload quite a few photos on a shop listing, so don’t be shy- use them! I like uploading close ups of lino prints. The unexpected marks on the Turtle Dove Reduction Print are part of the charm of the handmade art work.
A close up from Turtle Dove. If you want perfection- Get a computer to print it.
You Don’t Need A Professional Digital Camera
I first started selling art online in 2008. Back then the cameras on a mobile phone generated images the size of a postage stamp. These days, even my ancient iPhone 5 can take an image at 3264 pixels by 2448 pixels, easily large enough to upload to sites like Etsy.
Since we’re all photographing digitally these days it means we can experiment all over the house to find the best locations for the best shots. Hate that photo? Fine delete it! Turns out, after hours testing, the best natural light in my house was the bathroom! Who knew?
I hope that helps for now! Let us know what you have discovered.
A few years ago a work colleague moved house, to a village in Lancashire. I made her a linocut print for her cosy new home in the countryside.
I really liked the little brief she gave me and it was a pleasure to work this linoprint. She is an adventurer and loves travelling. She has lots of beautiful folk inspired art and prints already, so I felt chuffed to be asked to create something especially for her.
A romantic vision of a countryside walk, through a pretty village in England with sign posts for new roads and new journeys.
My colleague has been through a lot this year. She’s been on a tough journey. I really admire her bravery.
Folk Style Linocuts By MStraccia Art 