Adventures in Linocut: Cooper's Hill Coppice

Ta-daa! The first two linocuts. They show the woods above Runnymede. Each is an edition of 12 with one artist's proof which I will be retaining. Each is 10cm x 15 cm and printed with a raw umber oil based ink on handmade mulberry tissue. They will be for sale either mounted or framed; I will decide on final pricing when I have seen them properly presented.

The one to the left is the first I did. It shows part of the bluebell glade in May and is a good illustration of the consequences of the particular combination of printing technique and paper I have chosen. The paper is very variable in thickness, texture and opacity and has the odd small inclusion (a little leaf or petal) and they were printed with an improvised baren (that is to say I placed the paper on the lino then applied pressure manually, one section at a time) so I have been able to vary the pressure in different areas. This gave me the opportunity to react to the particular sheet of paper in relation to the design and, by fitting the paper to the lino before I started ( thicker areas of paper over the the darkest areas of the trees, thinner parts where I wanted relative softness and so on) and then varying the pressure I applied. I have managed to get some areas very harsh and others softer, some very dark and others faded to try and enhance the effect of light dappling to the ground. I felt it important to point this out because it means that there are substantial variations between each print; although they share a design each of the 12 is effectively unique.

The one to the right shows a tree on the edge of the woods in April before it had been swamped in leaves. It is far harsher, bleaker and more wind-swept, just like this April was! I have used the same techniques to play with the tones but restricted the variation to the bottom right corner and the bulkiest parts of the tree trunks.

Provide the framing is done these will make their debut at the art society's Spring show next Sunday at the Italian Concept restaurant in Egham from 10-ish am onwards.