A blog about Stockport landmarks by artist/printmaker Neil Robinson which follows a printmaking project depicting the diverse architectural styles of my hometown both new and old.
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.
On Sunday I attended a printmaking workshop for the first time in over three months since the lock down began on 23rd March in the UK. My printmaking friend Alan Birch organises weekly workshops for individuals and school groups. Times have been tough for the creative industry during lockdown and my friend has had to install measures such as screens dividing work areas, the use of hand santisers and the 2 metre social distancing rule. During my time away from attending studio workshops, I continued printing at home using my own portable press and hand printing Linos using my handmade printing jig. You can see the results of my efforts in previous posts.
“The secret doorway”
Since my last visit, I have completed a new etching for the forthcoming Towneley Hall exhibition which will open in August (see image above). The print is titled “The secret doorway”.
My latest etching features the river Mersey taken from one of my archive photographs. I hope to complete the print on my next visit to Prospect studios.
I prefer to use Sunography paper by Noted Llc which I found produced the best results. The paper has to be exposed for at least 10-15 minutes in bright sunlight and is coated on both sides with light sensitive chemicals.
Here are another selection of Cyanotypes (Sun-prints) this time depicting Stockport college selected from some of my digital photographs. The photographs I chose were transferred onto special inkjet compatible OHP transparencies before being used to create the final images. Some moisture blotted the transparency image creating a watery look to the ‘window’ print which was a bit of serendipity.
Greek street building (Window)Greek street buildingOld and new (outline image) Greek street buildings
I have been busy working from home during the lockdown as I my day job is as a Software Analyst. Today was my birthday so I decided to get my portable press out and do some printing.
Last month, I managed to complete all the aquatint tones on my print depicting the 192 bus. I usually attend a monthly printmaking workshop organised by my friend Alan Birch at his studio in the Rossendale valley. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, I have not been able to visit my friend in over a month due to lockdown restrictions, so consequently my bus etching was never printed until now. I am hoping to create some more prints in the coming weeks on other subjects related to my printing project. Look out for further updates! Bye for now.
This is my latest etching print which depicts the famous 192 bus service from Manchester. I am often asked how I come up with ideas and how I transfer these to an finished print.
Firstly, I start my capturing a series of photographs on location of the chosen subject matter I want to depict. I tend to use my phone’s built-in camera which is pretty good or a DSLR camera or even my trusty compact camera. As long as the image is clear, has good contrast and is importantly easy to trace, I have my perfect image. Most of the work is done for me with the photo such as composition but sometimes a landmark does not exist anymore, so I have to source images elsewhere and sketch my own interpretation which can be made of a montage of images merged together. Once an image has been chosen, I create a series of images which I drop into a software program called PowerPoint. In preparation, I create three slides in a PowerPoint file;
Slide #1. The original photo
Slide #2. A reverse version of the photo
Slide #3. A reverse inverted photo – I use a free online software program called Raw ISO to invert the photo Link: www.https://raw.pics.io/
The reversed inverted images are used later on as a guide when I am in the process of stopping out the different tonal areas on the plate and also to ensure any lettering or words etched onto the plate are in reverse.
I then trace my chosen image using 90gsm tracing paper. I tend to buy A3 (297 x 420mm) tracing pads as my images vary in size from small to large. I use a HB graphite pencil or something softer as the tracing will have to transfer to the waxed coated plated.
Once I have captured all the lines I need using the tracing paper, I then prepare the plate with hard ground wax which comes in a solid round block. The etching plate is then heated on a repurposed plate warmer and the wax then melts onto the plate. A dabber is then used to distribute the wax evenly and with a sufficient layer of wax.
The plate is then passed once through the press and the carbon from the tracing sticks to the wax making a reverse copy which is then ready for the lines to be scratched using a pointed etching tool.
I attended the first ever Manchester Open Art Exhibition held at HOMEmcr on Friday 17th. The preview was well attended and I received a certificate and badge from the event. Two of my recent etching prints from my Stockport In Print series are in the exhibition.
Manchester Open 2020Manchester Open 2020 (cat no. 247)Manchester Open 2020 (cat no. 419)Manchester Open 2020Manchester Open 2020
Stockport In Print 
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