Exhibition Time

February has been a busy time for me so far. I have been volunteering on setting up the 103rd Stockport Art Guild exhibition, compiling the catalogue, updating the website and creating labels for the artwork.

To my surprise, I was awarded an Honorary Lifetime Membership of Stockport Art Guild at this year’s annual exhibition. I was very happy and a bit overwhelmed to receive the award which is for my outstanding contribution to the success of the Art Guild over the last 20 years in particular developing the website and social media channels. I am really chuffed. 😀

Stockport Art Guild 103rd Exhibition flyer

Last Saturday, I visited the city of Chester to attend preview of The Grosvenor Museum’s 15th Open Art Exhibition. The exhibition is held in one room as you enter the museum and go up some stairs, the gallery is to the right past the reception area. The preview was very busy with lots of artists in attendance with their guests.

I have two of my etchings in the exhibition from the printmaking project. The first is a burnished etching of Robinsons Brewery, the second etching depicts The Blossoms pub.

The open arts exhibition is on until Sunday 31st August 2025, so there’s plenty of time for a visit. I will definitely be re-visiting the museum which houses a collection of Roman artefacts.

In March, I will be running some free printmaking workshops for the Stockport Art Guild’s ‘Art For All Day’ event which is on Sunday 16th March.

The event offers Stockport residents interested in art but with limited art experience the opportunity to engage in a range of practical art activities and to experience a variety of creative practice.

Activities include; figure and portrait drawing, clay modelling, printmaking and colourful painting, as well as a how-to-improve-your-drawing workshop.

15th Open Art Exhibition

I delivered two of my etching prints earlier today to go on display at the Grosvenor Museum in Chester early next month for the 15th Open Art exhibition. I’m looking forward to attending the preview on Saturday 8th February.

Published prints

I am thrilled to have my etching prints published in a book which celebrated the Derby Print Open 2024 exhibition which was held last month.

Derby Print Open Exhibition

I managed to visited the Derby Print Open exhibition recently to view the amazing printmaking at various venues around the city of Derby on a warm and sunny afternoon.

While visiting the exhibition, I spotted one of my etching prints at the nearby Dubrek music recording studios next door to Green Door Printmaking Studios.

It was great seeing my own artwork in the exhibition and I also purchased a high quality exhibition catalogue which featured all the prints in the show. The exhibition has closed today and I will be returning to collect my prints in the coming weeks and also visit some of the museums in Derby town centre such as the Museum of Making.

Bye for now.

The Blossoms pub print

I completed my latest etching of The Blossoms pub yesterday at Prospect Studios and here is the final result.

I used a darker black printing ink which brings out the detail and contrast more on the image.

Linocut and etching work in progress

Today, I have been continuing to work on two plates; a Linocut based on a Vernon Park and an etching of The Blossoms pub.

‘Crowther’s Family Gift bench’
(A4 Reduced Linocut)

I started work on the linocut this morning by removing small sections all over the linoleum sheet in preparation for a new layer colour. I decided to add a mix of burnt umber, white and yellow to create a sandy colour. I reckon I have at least 2 more colours left to print which I will be adding soon which will be light green ink for the foliage and highlights on the bench possibly white ink.

After lunch, I continued to work on another print this time an etching depicting The Blossoms pub. One issue from last time working on this print is that I discovered while printing a proof of the etching, there was a white spot on the print where the aquatint had for some reason been removed. As you can see in the photo below of the test print, this was very noticeable on the print, so I had to remedy this before I could continue printing.

Blemish on the print where the aquatint has been removed.

‘The Blossoms’ (Etching Aquatint)

I added aquatint resin again to the plate and then using stop out, I covered all the plate apart from the section where the blemish was located. The dark section on the print is where I left the plate exposed to the strong acid for 5 minutes. I then printed another proof and the result is shown in the photo below.

The Blossoms poof print after fixing the blemish.

I then worked on burnishing the plate to lighten areas where required. In my next blog post I will show the finished print.

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.

Blossoms pub etching taking shape

I recently started work on a new etching on the theme of pubs in Stockport as part of my printmaking project. The new print depicting The Blossoms pub which incidentally is opposite the old pool hall building which I mentioned in my last blog post.

I might use this print for the upcoming 20:20 print exchange or I might do a brand new linocut instead.

On Saturday, I was due to take part in a Japanese woodcut 1-day workshop down in Derby at Green door studios. The workshop has been rescheduled for later this year due to illness. I hope to do a blog post in late October. I have never done any woodcut prints before so the wait will be worth it.

I am also continuing to work on my Vernon Park Linocut depicting a carved stone bench which I printed the second colour last week. Today I carved away a third layer which will be a light brick colour. I will show the results in my next blog post.

In mid May, I visited the capital London and spent a couple of hours in the British Museum. The museum is free and there are rotating exhibitions in the main forecourt building which you have to book for. One of the free exhibitions was the Japan’s festival float on the ground floor in Room 3 gallery as you enter the museum on the right hand side of the entrance. Apart from the beautifully crafted wooden model boat which was donated back on 1908 for the Summer Olympics, there were some amazing woodcut prints on display. I would recommend this place as a day out if you are visiting London as a tourist, lots to see.