Collagraphy and Chine-collé

Many thanks to Bruce who took on a whole day of ‘Frank-watch’ so I could do some work in the studio 😘. I spent time experimenting with different surfaces for making collagraphy plates and then combined this with what I’d learnt about Chine-collé to add colour. My intention was to print these as relief prints (so, like a linocut) – fascinating how the different surfaces gave such different marks when printed up. My next step was to start building a collagraph plate – the theme being plough lines. I’ve a plan to produce a number of prints combining different media, so each print will be unique rather than one of a series. I also want to include some text in the prints, as I’ve always liked work that includes text of some kind.

Experiments with surfaces and proof print of Collagraph Plate

Getting back to life drawing…

What with getting my website up and running, photographing and loading work on to Saatchiart.com and getting a puppy, I’ve done almost no drawing for a while. So….on to Google to find an online life drawing class, so I can fit this in around ‘Frank watch’ (that’s the puppy’s name). The first class was last week, 6:30 – 9:00 in the evening and was brilliant. The session was run over Zoom, and as we shared our drawings at the end I discovered out I was sharing a class with people in Dublin, New York and Peru. I was also really impressed by the two life models; they were new to life modelling and using the class as a way to audition for future life modelling jobs. Although it wasn’t the same as attending a face to face session, it was great to connect with artists and get drawing again. It also reminded me that I need to be drawing much more regularly – that’ll be an ongoing aim!

Chine-collé experimentation…

Having seen prints that had been made using Chine-collé, I was keen to try this method of adding colour to some of my linocut prints. At the moment, it feels frustrating that I’m not producing much in the way of finished pieces, so I have to remind myself that the need to develop my own practice means that experimentation is still a valuable use of studio time. Plus of course, the fact that having a 12 week old puppy is always going to put the brakes on anything that requires an extended period of concentration! Anyway, I was very pleased with the initial results which have given me ideas for a whole new series of work building on the ‘Wiltshire Landmarks’ prints…