DRYPOINT ETCHING ON PERSPEX

This is my latest "hobby". I love it. I saw it advertised in our local free paper, "The Bishop Press" and rang up to book in straight away. The sessions are run at the Town hall once a month. Downstairs is a gallery and art studio/work space. It houses the printing press donated by Tom McGuinness, one of the "Pitman Painters".
He donated much to the local community. His press is for general use, some signed prints are for sale at a reasonable price at the library and I have even admired some magnificent paintings on the wall at the local GP's surgery. The receptionist simply said..."Oh Yes, Tom was a great friend of the Doctor".

This intaglio etching is a style of scratching on plexiglass with a steel pointed scriber...

The sheets I have used so far are 11x15cm. Not too big and ,therefore, easy to scratch away at with the scriber. It is considered artistic to scratch in different directions and with different strengths so that the scrapes have a rough or smooth edge and a variety of depth to hold the ink....

First effort shows from top to bottom...
*not enough ink wiped on and off the surface
*too much ink left on the plate
*maybe JUST RIGHT
It's a bit like the three bears and their porridge.

I inked this plate (on the left) with mixed inks. The two prints on the right are made with cotton buds applying the ink and lots of old phone book pages and cheap paper towel removing and blending it.

Here's another one done the same way in a few different colours.
I side placed the above prints on the sheet of paper so that I could fold them as cards, then I centre placed this one below.

I've started on another one using one of my own photos of Low Barns which is a wild life sanctuary near here. Here are the three stages I've done so far.

On the left is the photo, centre is the textural-tracing, right is the scratching/etching...as yet not complete. I'll see how it prints next month. It's only on once a month.

The other innovation chez nous is ...........A pressure cooker.

It came yesterday and I have already advanced from boiling potatoes to steaming gammon and making grand rice pudding. It is not to be a nine day wonder. Apart from it's own cooking benefits it will also reduce the cost of gas used in this house. I've never had one before so I'm sure you will hear more about it as I go.
Cheers
Gillian

July Was A Busy Time

After the trip to Masham we settled in at home for a couple of sets of visitors. My sister and her husband brought Mum up to stay with a friend and undertook necessary work on the student rental house that they own.
Then the Great Granddaughter was brought north by her parents.

Outings to the usual places prepared her for the future. Fish and Chips from the Almighty Cod at Seaton Carew and Jersey ice cream from Archers.

I got to rock her in the rain while the chips were eaten.
After that we headed to the Midlands to visit friends and then down to Lancing to visit relatives and new kittens. Fortunately the weather was fine and we we had BBQs at Goring Gap and at the campsite.
Then on to stay in Mudeford with sister and husband again.
There was an Arts Festival on and I'd submitted some pictures.

They hung happily amongst the others enjoying their outing and then they all got packed up to come home. My art tutor warned me that black frames don't sell!!! The few pictures that sold seemed to be photos and animals. Traditional watercolours and scenery seem to be out of fashion. And my art tutor was right. My pictures looked quite sombre amongst their brighter companions.
A new allotment was also on the visiting list.

DJ checked out the shed and...

Both he and T looked carefully for Raspberries.

We took a big bag of fresh veggies home and at the bottom was thus little fellow sitting with his legs crossed.

We stopped and camped overnight in Whatstandwell and then went up in the cable car to The Heights of Abraham.

Great views, a cavern to look round and some lovely fossils were the best bits and the cable car was super.

Then on home to pick up Billy who was so surprised to see us that he must have thought we were never coming back.

His first birthday is tomorrow.

Cheers for now,

Gillian