Hardy hedgehogs....

 

With the warm autumn weather we've been having it's no surprise the hedgehogs are wondering what time of year it is, I just hope that they all find a home before the really cold weather starts. The colours of the autumn leaves have been particularly good this year so if they've used them for a warm bed, they'll be feeling very stylish!  Last year at this time I nearly disturbed one of these lovely creatures as I tried to tidy up the garden but fortunately discovered him [or her] before any damage was done and left the leaves all around to keep our valued little friend warm. 

 

 

Pencil sketch

 

I'll be working on another print  but there's something so special about them and I want to find out  more. There's a lot of information on the British Hedgehog Preservation Society website and after reading it  I think that I might have a go at making a hedgehog 'prefab' for the garden.....baby hedgehogs in the garden next Spring would be wonderful . Did you know a collective noun [or one of them] for hedgehogs is a 'prickle'.....sounds perfect to me. 

 

This character looks like he could do with a good home, but I love the expression on his face.....he just has to made into a print!

 

 

And finally, following the hand pressed prints of the magpie, I did some roller press prints from the same block   

 

 

The moon and the magpie. Roller pressed on Japanese paper.

One for sorrow?

The magpie or 'maggot-pies' as Shakespeare refers to them in Macbeth, seem to be so caught up in folklore in just about every country in the world and it's not hard to see why. The  black and white feathers and the raucous call makes them very distinctive and rather mysterious - although they are often seen in groups called 'tidings' or 'parliaments', they always seem to me to be loners. 

As a totem animal it is known as ‘the cunning prophet‘ and is associated with  prophecy.  It's said it can be taken as a sign of  joy in personal change, encouraging us to let go of the old and find the new with confidence and clarity. It's certainly an adaptable and successful bird and even if you don't believe in folklore and legends, you can still appreciate it just for the way it looks.

The famous nursery rhyme 'One for sorrow, two for joy' etc., means that they were familiar  to most children a generation or two ago but I wonder if that's still the case......do you still salute a magpie when you see one?!

 

Black and white lino print on Japanese paper - hand printed

 

Val's beautiful prints of the moon were my inspiration for these prints, done by hand at a very early stages so that I could see whether I could get the effect I was after. I like to take prints at an early stage as often they suggest taking a different route towards the finished piece of work.

 

The next stage is to see how the image will change when the block is printed using a mechanical press...... 

Abstract ladybirds

I've been playing around with the images of the ladybird and realise how much I like the strength and sharpness of black and white printing. It has its own difficulties of course, but there is something both calming and energising in the different tonal values which can be achieved using different tooling methods and I've been playing around with some bits of images  from my original vinyl print.

 

At the moment this is one stage for a final idea but I like the shapes and the idea of using parts of the  the same image turned around and juxtaposed. I'm still working on it but feel it has a lot of potential....

Ladybird, ladybird fly away home

 

This week I've been working on an image that developed from an exercise in being bold with charcoal and shapes.  The original images led me to think of making a print and once that process gets involved, it's inevitable that there will be twists and turns which are always surprising....  

 

 

 

 

Did you know that we have 46 species of ladybirds in Britain? I didn't until I started looking up information about this lovely little creature. We're very happy to see them on the allotment as they are voracious eaters of aphids, apparently they can eat up to 5000 of them in their one year lifetime although I would love to know how that's been established!

 

These small coloured pencil sketches led me to develop the ladybird theme but I knew I wanted to make it more abstract when it was transferred to the vinyl block

 

 

It was then a matter of  making an initial print  to see how the design would appear

 

 

30cm x30cm print on Japanese paper

 

 

I liked the result but wanted to experiment more with the image

 

 

30cm x 30cm Red and Black print on Japanese paper

 

 

 

 

Close up of ladybird, black on red background

 

It's interesting how  different colours and masking out areas can completely change the 'feel' of the image,  so I'll continue to experiment with it

Kingfishers at night? Really??

 

I've been working on an idea for an abstract print but it isn't ready yet for the rest of the world so I've revisited an image I originally worked on earlier in the year - the kingfisher.  Somehow it seemed appropriate after drawing the feathers and I wondered how often someone finds an iridescent blue kingfisher feather.  How wonderful that would be and I would spend a very long time studying them if ever I was ever lucky enough to find one.

 

 

Lino print and watercolour

 

I know kingfishers aren't seen at night but mine has decided to see what all  the  fuss is about and have a chat to the moon....perhaps the fish will be sleepy and more easily caught?.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lino print and watercolour.

I shall do more work on this image as I want to give the water some definition and improve the

cloud formations

 

 

 

Lino cut and watercolour

 

 

This one is an extravaganza  of colour because, after all, that's what kingfishers are all about.....