Some prints at last

There is a lot of work on the go but until now I have not had any “High Country” work complete and ready to share.

The drawings are detailed and slow to finish as I work in layers, building up the blacks for depth and the whites for highlights, just using a HB pencil and a pencil eraser. There are 12 drawings roughed out and I collect one from the studio regularly in the evening and “doodle” away at it under a very bright LED light, while I listen to an audio book (one of my other addictions – definitely better for the mind and soul than TV). It will be months before any are complete.

I have also prepared a lot of plates and am now working my way through printing them one at a time. Plate 1 is done (see attached plate and print). This too is a slow process (something at which I seem to excel), as each plate is worked up in stages. The first stage is to create an impasto gel “texture” on the plate for the flower and leaf colours. Once these colours are printed I then paste paper over them as a “mask,” create the background with textured impasto gel and print the plate in a dark colour. Finally, I use a coloured pencil to provide greater definition and depth to my satisfaction.

The most tedious part of the process, is cutting, testing for size and finally

pasting on all of the fiddly little shapes after the colours have been printed. Despite having a tracing of the plate, I frequently find that I have to draw and cut a shape 2 or 3 times before it completely covers the impasto gel texture beneath it. The image of the plate (attached) shows why I find this process difficult. There are after all lots of very small pieces of paper to attach and yes, I know, many would say that I am crazy…..

A nine panel monotype and coloured pencil work, inspired by Snow Gum bark, is another thing completed recently (see panel egs below)