Relief Printmaking

I’ve been busy this month travelling to two different workshops creating new prints.

At the moment, I am working on a reduction lino cut which I started last month which depicts the former Stockport college buildings which are currently being demolished to make way for a new development of housing, a civic building and green spaces.

“Stockport college” (linocut) Test print

Prints on drying rack at Prospect studio

I visited the college site on Sunday afternoon and saw the aftermath of the first stage of the demolition. I believe the Greek Street building (second photo) is being saved and will be a hub for local businesses.

A few weeks ago, I attended a Japanese woodcut workshop at Green Door printmaking studios in Derby.

https://www.greendoor-printmaking.co.uk/

The 1-day workshop covered the process of taking a sketch or photo and producing a block print from a small sheet of bamboo.

I’ve not covered woodcut printing before so was surprised by the results. To prep the wood printing block, you first sand the surface of the wood with wet and dry and then paint the wood with blue watered-down acrylic paint.

A piece of yellow carbon paper was place on top of the wood block and you trace your pencil drawing on top of that to leave an impression on the surface of the wood to allow you to carve your image. With special woodcutting tools, you then cut using a blade cutter to cut across the grain where needed and then use one of the wide cutting tools to remove the areas of wood block you want staying light.

The wood block is then inked with oil based ink. Sumi paper is used as it’s thin and suitable for woodcut printing.

To transfer the image to paper, you can use either a barren, spoon or the side of your hands to apply pressure. I used a combination of these tools. I also used a book press which did an excellent job. I will definitely have to explore woodcut again. My inspiration for today’s print was the much missed Sycamore Gap.

Shopping List: Lino cutting tools

https://www.lawrence.co.uk/pfeil-lino-tool.html

Future plans for prints and history walks

I plan to enter my work in the Derby Open 2024. I’m also planning another photo walk around town which will probably be north of the Mersey.

Further details will be published in the coming months.

Review of 2023 in pictures

Here’s a gallery of prints and images from this year.

My main highlights from this year was having work accepted into The Real Public Art Show (Stockport Open), the first Bury Open exhibition and the 102nd Stockport Art Guild exhibition.

2024 marks 10 years since I started this printmaking project / blog, and in that time I have created a catalogue of printmaking which I am going to present in a future exhibition. The project is not over yet, as I will be producing some new artworks in the coming months. Watch this space 👀

By the way have a happy and relaxing Christmas and here’s to 2024 and more creativity. Cheers 🥳🎄☃️🎇🎁

Albrecht Dürer’s material world

I had some time off recently and decided to visit the Dürer exhibition in Manchester at the Whitworth Art Gallery. This is the first major exhibition of Dürer’s work for fifty years.

I was fascinated by the process of woodcut printing and the woodcut block on display, so much detailed work and observation of the subject matter. The exhibition covers the career of Dürer over his life and is located over two galleries linked by a long corridor which has a timeline of event in his lifetime.

My favourite woodcut print was of the large horse (circa 1505).

Later in the day, I had an appointment with Bury Art Museum to drop off and collect some of my prints at the art shop. One of my prints i submitted is the canal print (as seen below)

Prints and tours

Earlier this month, I hosted a meetup event of Staircase House museum which is situated in the marketplace. Staircase House dates back to the 15th Century and houses artefacts right up to World War II. Each room houses a different century and you get the experience of stepping back in time. It’s a gem of a museum and certainly worth a repeat visit. While on the tour of the house, we were shown hidden beams and section reveals showing how the building was constructed.

I am continuing to work on the Vernon Park linocut, which I have been slowly building up layers of colour these past few months. For each colour added, I then remove parts of the linoleum which I no longer need in preparation for the next colour layer. I tend to remove the linoleum at home to save time when I attend the workshop. So far I have printed 3 colours; Light grey, dark grey and a brick red colour on thin black cartridge paper. I have about 8 good prints so far. My next colour will probably be dark Green for the foliage in the background and on the path below the bench.

Vernon Park linocut. Added a brick red colour.

At the same time as printing the Vernon Park linocut, I continued working on The Blossoms etching. I managed to print off a proof print at the workshop. There seems to be a blemish on the print which I will need to fix probably by re-aquatinting the area affected. The print itself looks good so far, and hope to complete this print next month on my next visit to the studio.

Mailbox Stockport Lino-print

In the months of July and August, I have completed a 7 colour reduction lino-cut print depicting the Mailbox Stockport apartment block which is a former post office building that had been abandoned for years. The building is located in the centre of Stockport just off the A6 main road not far from the railway station. The new building has real foliage and bright green tiled walls on it’s exterior.

I used oil based inks from Hawthorn Printmakers this time apart from the green which is a mix of water-based Pea green and oil based Titanium white. The effect of mixing a water based ink with oil based printing ink is very interesting in that it creates a unusual pattern when the print dries.

I created a total of 10 prints from the plate which I cut down until only a few pieces of linoleum remained. The red colour used in the print was added with watercolour paint.

Gelli print

Here is my first attempt at printing a gelli print with a matte medium transfer depicting Stockport Viaduct.