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COMING SOON! My own Virtual Reality Gallery

8 April 2019

Those that know me a little better may be aware that my very talented game developer husband of Ben Olding Games Ltd, has just ventured into the exciting world of Virtual Reality (VR) development...

On a whim, he decided to create me my very own virtual reality gallery - lucky me! This virtual space features all of my lino prints - and I mean ALL of them, framed and arranged to scale. It is fascinating to see them all exhibited together - a feat that I cannot easily manage in Real Life.

My gallery has been submitted to the Steam Store, we are just waiting for it to be approved. When it is live it will be completely free to get your hands on and explore... all you need is a virtual reality headset...

When it is live, you will be the first to know....

2019 CHALLENGE: 25 Prints and 50 Paintings

4 April 2019

This year I plan to complete 25 linocuts. Alongside these pieces I shall also create 50 mini paintings. See them all here as they are completed...

/library/uploads/Images_S8/6 Bluebell Path.jpg/library/uploads/Images_S8/6 Bluebell Path painting 1.jpg/library/uploads/Images_S8/6 Bluebell Path painting 2.jpg
/library/uploads/Images_S8/5 Woodland Snow.jpg/library/uploads/Images_S8/5 Woodland Snow painting 1.jpg/library/uploads/Images_S8/5 Woodland Snow painting 2.jpg
/library/uploads/Images_S8/4 Woodland Hellebores.jpg/library/uploads/Images_S8/4 Woodland Hellebores painting 1.jpg/library/uploads/Images_S8/4 Woodland Hellebores painting 2.jpg
/library/uploads/Images_S8/3 Snowdrops and Melting Snow.jpg/library/uploads/Images_S8/3 snowdrops and melting snow painting 1.jpg/library/uploads/Images_S8/3 snowdrops and melting snow painting 2.jpg
/library/uploads/Images_S8/2 Grasmere Birches.jpg/library/uploads/Images_S8/2 Grasmere Birches painting 1.jpg/library/uploads/Images_S8/2 Grasmere Birches painting 2.jpg
/library/uploads/Images_S8/1 lakeside puddles.jpg/library/uploads/Images_S8/1 lakeside puddles painting 1.jpg/library/uploads/Images_S8/1 lakeside puddles painting 2.jpg

RESOURCES: What equipment do I use?

2 January 2019

Presses
To begin with I hand burnished my prints. After a while, I bought myself a small relief press, mostly to speed up my printing rather than to get a better result. I believe that you don't need a press if you are prepared to spend the time hand burnishing! If you are getting an unsatisfactory result with your hand burnishing, it is most likely the ink application that is the problem or the type of paper. That is my experience in any case. 
Anyway, I wanted to get my prints printed quicker, so I bought myself an Abig Hand Printing Press from Great Art. I have used it for at least four years now and I still use it for my smaller work. I do now also have the Abig Printing Press 500mm which I have been happy with so far for my bigger work. I am not overly familiar with different types of presses and I am not sure what is useful information, so if you have a specific question about this press, let me know so I can make this section more informative. I chose this press mainly because of the bed size for weight ratio - I wanted to print big, but be able to move the thing around. It was a bit of a punt, as you can see there is minimal information about it! 

Cutters/gouges
I got by with a simple Essdee, red handled lino cutting set for years before I felt the need to purchase better quality tools. I also have a cheap Abig set which I still find useful. When I did upgrade I bought myself a few Pfiel tools. I now have fifteen of them but some get a lot more use than others. I keep them sharp with a Flexcut Slip Strop which you can see here on Jackson's Art.

Barens
For pressure, actually think you can't do much better than a spoon if you are working small. If you are working big, a spoon can take a while use thoroughly. I have a nice baren made by Speedball which has a smooth padded surface to glide over the paper and a nice wooden handle to hold. I used this to burnish my big work before I got my larger press.

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