Blackbird Screenprint

So to follow 'hot on the heels' of my last post, here is my first design on the new screen printing bed. I cannot tell you what a joy it is to see a design progress through all of the different stages; from the initial sketches to actually holding 100 freshly screen printed copies. In the next few weeks I will be showing more of my new 'setup' and how I go about printing the designs I have created. This print in particular uses three disntinctly different colours, that I have tried to take advantage of tonally: Ranging from the deep black base of the blackbird's tail feathers through the earthy mid greens of the flight feathers and branch and finally to the brighter, warmer reds of the berries.

photograph of the full print (paper appears maybe slightly dark)

The inspiration for this print came from my love of the work of Japanese Kacho-e print artists, (a sub genre of Ukiyo-e) like Keinen Imao and Koson Ohara; their composition and subtle details depicting each bird’s character yet with a limited colour scheme. However this piece also owes a lot to western wood engravers like Thomas Bewick whose detailed line-work I have loved for a very long time. So I have tried to combine styles from the cream of ornithological print makers, both east and west.

  

 

Also, this will be my first commercially available print and once I finish work on my Etsy shop I will post again (in a day or so...) to let you know when you'll be able to buy this print online... Exciting times ahead!

New illustration developments...

So my new year's resolution is that I am going to try to share more about what I am currently doing on a more regular basis. I have had a brief hiatus, (oh a few years!) but I have some exciting new developments in my creative endeavours that I must share!

For the last year I have been building a screen printing workshop, making the machinery myself from scratch, sourcing materials and running tests. It has always been a dream of mine since I first studied surface print design at Central Saint Martins to own my own screen printing bed, and now it's finally a reality!

Also due to the hardware and it's possibilities I have started drawing more for myself, trying to find the time between freelance projects to produce designs of subject matter that I am personally interested in. Never thought I'd cross into fine-art but here goes nothing!

So, more posts to come in next few weeks and hopefully some illustrations to follow.