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Studio Diary April 2018

30 April 2018

Wow, not sure where this year has gone so far, as I write this I am five days away from opening my studio for Oxfordshire Artweeks and I am not as prepared as I would like! I don't have as much new work as I would like.

I should probably forgive myself a little... I have been working very hard (just not doing much printing! How did I get fifty prints done last year...?)

In March I put on the biggest and most successful exhibition of my career so far, at Claydon Estate. It was wonderful to see so many of my past students and customers making the effort to visit and support me and it was lovely to meet some new enthusiasts. I showed my #50prints2017 alongside forty of my best ever pieces. Everyone keeps asking me what the dates are for next year's solo!... It might take me a few years to build up enough work to put on another exhibition of that scale. There was work form the past eight years at the last one. Here is a photo of me from the private view.

So as mentioned, preparations for Artweeks did fall a little behind schedule, but so far, I have managed to give my room a lick of paint, I have also installed new art rails which should give me more flexibility when arranging my pictures.

This week I have lots of work to frame and a bit of tidying to do but all should be fine and dandy by Saturday 5th.

Here is the link to my Oxfordshire Artweeks entry and don't miss Bicester's Art Trail this year, you can pick one up from me when you come or download the digital version.

My studio will be open every day from the 5th until the 13th May. I then have four weeks until Bucks Art Weeks begins! I will be back at Claydon Estate, showing at Claydon Gallery.

50 prints in 2017 part two

29 October 2017

50 prints in 2017 part one!

26 July 2017

Very briefly, to get me back on track with the blog post, here is Southbank Reflections, a larger version of Rainy Southbank from earlier in the year. Very pleased with how this came out! This puts me up to 17/50 prints for 2017.

Another go at a scene tackled earlier in the year, which has nearly sold out! This is Setting Sun and Mist, Waddesdon, 16/50.

This is Beer Coast, inspired by a recent trip to south Devon with family. 15/50.

This large linocut was made just in time for my Artweeks exhibition. It is New Leaves and Bluebells. Print number 14/50 of my challenge.

I created Summer Woodland to make a set of four seasons with three older prints. 13/50.

12/50 is A Crush of Grape Hyacinths, my second print in my invented-collective-nouns-for-flowers range.

Silhouetted Clocks is print 11/50. a simple two layer mini print.

24th July 2017

With Artweeks and Bucks Open Studios taking up so much of my time in May and June, I am really behind updating this post! The good news is that I am not actually too far behind with my 50 print challenge. I think one positive from doing this challenge is that I at times I have managed to work much faster without compromising on the quality. I have also found that I have tackled some different subjects.

Print 10/50 proved very popular on Artfinder and Facebook! This is Rainy Southbank. I only have two of these prints left.

Print 9/50 is still a work-in-progress. The BAFA Printmaker's homework was to do a print that features an animal. A chance for me to go a print of Dora my dog! This is Selfie With Dog. I enjoyed a different style of cutting but I'm not that happy with the results so far.... I am pleased with how Dora looks but I feel like the style of cutting I used for myself doesn't match the style of cutting I used to describe Dora. maybe I'lll have another go at this at some point.

This is 8/50 Turning to Autumn, another print I completed in time to Brill Art on the Hill.

17th March 2017

So inevitably, I have run a little behind with my challenge and also haven't had time to update my blog post! What I didn't think to factor in to my plan was a little contingency for illness and for those unexpected opportunities that pop up and are too good to miss!

Last night I managed to complete print 8/50 which is now hanging up to dry, I will share this next time I write.

I realised while totting up the work I had to display at Brill that I didn't have many new small woodland pieces, so print 7/50 is a small woodland print set in the spring, just before the bluebells emerge, Bright New Beech Leaves.

And this time of year I always seem to produce new bluebell work, I think I get excited about them appearing soon and then start looking through last years bluebell photos! Here is print number 6/50, Bluebell Walk

As I was starting to run a little behind with my challenge, I chose a quick mini print as print 5/50. For a while I've been inventing collective names for flowers and I thought this would make a nice running theme across some mini prints this year. This print is called A Promise of Snowdrops; always the first flowers to emerge and a sign of warmer times to come!

My biggest project of the year so far was print number 4/50 of my challenge, Daisy Delights. For this print I was keen to try some video footage. I managed to film every stage of this 8 colour print.

Here is my video...

14th February 2017

I am really pleased with my progress so far, I am 3 prints already this year and I shall be starting the fourth print today. To help me keep on track with my challenge I thought it would be helpful to break it down into months, so I looked at the calendar and decided how many prints I had to complete that month to keep me on track. It averages about 4 a month. One interesting development so far is that I have found I am spending much less time deciding what to produce next.

Here is print 3/50 Bluebell Dream completed on the 19th January.

I created this mini print because a customer requested it. I love doing these little bluebell scenes. I've done a few now and I'm confident imagining them rather than following a photo.

Here is print 2/50 Last Light, Waddesdon completed on the 16th January.

If you look closely you will notice that the sky is not a flat colour, this is because I decided to get a bit creative with my inking. I'm very pleased with the effect.

14th January 2017

I have started using the hashtag #50prints2017 on Twitter and Instagram so you can easily find all 50 prints. If you are a printmaker and fancy having a go at my challenge too, you are welcome to join me and use my hashtag.

13th January 2017

I didn't get as many prints produced in 2016 as I would have liked. In 2017 things are going to be different! I am determined to spend less time on non-artwork producing tasks and have set myself the target of producing 50 prints this year. This will be an extremely tough challenge for me. It will require very strict management of my time. In addition to this work producing challenge, I have also promised myself a bit more me time, i.e less long working days, less work at weekends, more time for exercise classes etc.

This will be difficult, but I am determined to make it work. I will keep this blog post updated with my progress! I will also be posting every print on my facebook page, so if you don't currently follow me, now might be a good time to start :)

Here is print 1/50 Pylon at Dusk completed on the 9th January.

The straight and curved lines were a challenge! It was great to experiment with a different type of cutting.