Tree Sketches

With our Jubilee Wood project in mind, this week I am looking at trees, in all sorts of ways. Today I walked down to the reservoir where along the side of the main path are a magnificent stand of poplars. They are regal. It’s really the first time I have looked carefully at the fascinating rhythmic branching pattern.  I made a few quick sketches of the poplar and a few other  local trees.

The old oak and the branching poplar, A5 sketchbook

Sycamore and the twiggy downward arching willow, complete with camellia galls.

and, back home, a simplification of the poplar pattern.

Suddenly many Art Deco designs make sense to me!

Winter woodland

The weather this last week has been a good reminder that winter is not going to slip out quietly, even if the first signs of spring are here with the narrow, dark green snowdrop leaves pushing their way up through the ground. After the first scattering of snow I walked through the Jubilee Wood one  afternoon just as the sun was dipping down and caught sight of some bird tracks in the snow. Identifying them is not my strong point but after a bit of research I think I can safely say they belonged to a pheasant.......

  
A very quick sketch with watercolour and gouache to help remind me of  the shape of the prints running  along the edge of the hedge in the crunchy snow. Many pheasants are now using the wood for cover as both the trees and ground cover are  growing up  and providing them with somewhere to hide, forage and roost for the night.

Pencil and watercolour in sketchbook [30x20cm]

 

Phasianus colchicus,  known to most of us as the pheasant, is Britain's most widespread game bird  and originally came from Asia and China. The strong markings and neck colour of the adult makes it easy to identify and ideal as a subject for a print so I had better start putting these sketches to some use...... 

 

 

As for the greater spotted woodpecker print which I started last time, I've now got a much better idea of how the finished piece will look  after putting the vinyl block through the press

 

Dendrocopos major

 

I still have some more work to do on this piece, but am pleased with the composition in general. The next stage will be to print the small areas of red on the head of the juvenile at the front and the male in the centre of the picture.

Grasshopper first print

I am not sure I can really call this a grasshopper. I have taken quite a bit of artistic license with it, but it’s fine for some more experiments and does have some of the essence of the sketches and grasshoppery-ness about it. I have been reading about the difference between crickets and grasshoppers and, as usual, it all becomes more and more fascinating the more you find out.

Drawing, block  and first proof…

 

I have quite a few more prints and drawings and ideas for this little chap in progress so more in a weeks time.

More Grasshoppers

I have been looking at winter colours today and while I had the paints out made a few more very quick sketches of the grasshoppers:

Sketchbook Crickets and Grasshoppers

Earlier in the autumn there was a bright green spindly legged cricket in the wardrobe. They are strange and wonderful things. There are quite a few in the Garden in the summer, and of course grasshoppers are all around the reservoir. 

The cricket came to mind the other day and I thought I would make some sketches.
I am also planning a series of prints of singing, chirping, humming things for our woodland project.

 

 

 

Sketchbook sketches A5 sketchbook

There may also be a small grasshopper book, as book number three for this year. Not quite sure of the form yet but it might be something  like the eel book.

 Finished small eel book  A case bound concertina print.

Woodpeckers and galls

As I was walking through our village Jubilee wood this week, I came across some galls in one of the small oak trees.  As many of the trees are still only 6-8 feet high you get a good view of the lichen, galls and other beasties who live there  and the bright almost luminous colours of some of the lichens in the sunshine are just wonderful.

 

These galls look like chocolate truffels stuck onto the branch but they definitely aren't for eating. The larval stages of the gall wasps induce the plant to make these abnormal growths called galls  and our native oak trees are host plants for more than 30 species!

I can feel a print coming on once I've done more research into these little creatures but in the meantime I'm working on a lino print of woodpeckers. Our peanut feeder has attracted a greater spotted woodpecker in this colder weather and it's a pleasure to see him feeding there even though the squirrels are very good at getting in first.

                                         Pen and ink sketch of Greater spotted woodpeckers for lino cut.  21 x 15 cm

Next stage......transferring to a block and start cutting once I've decided on whether to make it a reduction print or to use a block for each colour.  Watch this space!

Eel print trials

I am playing with all sorts of printing methods at the moment and wanted to make a simple concertina book to practice a bit more simple bookbinding.

Here are a couple of plates cut from card.

Some print trials with different weights of ink .

And simply folded. More experiments and cover possibilities to come