Would you like a print? (AKA a tiny little giveaway)

I’m learning how to print and Theo is just not impressed with me. 🙂

But me? I’m impressed with myself even if only a little.

Just after Art in Action I decided I’d love to try printing lino cuts, so I gathered some papers, bought a brayer and some sepia printing ink and decided to look up some techniques on YouTube and visit artist’s websites.

It soon became apparent that it was also necessary to have a heavy burnisher for transferring the ink to the paper.

Robert said, “will this piece of brass do?” I said it would be so perfect if only there was no danger of snagging the paper on the rough edge.

Robert said, “There you go, there’s the lathe!”
(Gulp)Are you kidding me?

Actually, he’s the greatest! He started the process for me, got me to have a go once he had it going so I could say I had a hand in the design of my wonderful new burnisher and finished it for me expertly bevelling all edges. It would win first prize for the smoothest thing in the smooth thing competition.

So today, this is what my studio table looks like. (Actually it looks much worse, this has been cleaned ever so slightly so you can see there’s a real table under there.)

These printing blocks are Robert’s mother’s wonderful 1950s plates.

I thought they were lino cuts, but underneath the paint, they are solid, probably lead.

And here is my window sill and radiator. Oh, can’t see them? That’s because I’ve been practising and I won’t stop till I have at least 20 good images that I like.

It’s actually trickier that I thought. There’s a fine line between too much ink and not enough. There’s a fine line between too vigorous a burnishing and too light.

And then, some of the plates are very fine lines and some very solid and some have fine and solid lines mixed up. There doesn’t seem to be a one rule fits all here.

And then I will hurry up and try for different papers before I even know what I’m doing…lol

So if you’re not like Theo and are a little bit impressed and would like to have a 1950s print or two in sepia ink, then tell me and I will send it out to you. 🙂

Unless you’re Chloe and then you have to wait till I get back. 🙂