Tynemouth Foamy Fest, Hyperlapse and gannets...

Last day of the summer holidays...certainly flew by that's for sure. Went out for a little walk along the seafront this morning and it was feeling decidedly autumnal...although I have been informed that this coming week is meant to warm up again! So fingers crossed for that...I do love the summer sunshine and I'm not yet ready to break out the winter clothes...

I have spent the last few days being useful however. I am carving my latest herring lino...which is taking a very very long time as it's quite intricate...

You can see I've carved out all the background and have started on the fish on the right...since this photo I have carved out another 2 fish...but that's still taken me four and a half hours so far...so still got quite a way to go! Really looking forward to being able to ink it up and print it though!! It's A3 in size as well so I'm hoping it looks pretty impressive...still not sure how many to print out with this one though.

And speaking of printing...I got my latest print mounted and up on the various shops I sell through...I've only made five of these...

Well...strictly speaking I made about 12...but due to how the ink came out on the paper I was only actually happy with five of them...so the rest have gone into the bin...but that does mean this is now quite a limited print that I do really like actually...I wasn't sure when I was printing it, as I've said in a previous post I print everything by hand, and where the blue ink is, it's actually quite a large area to print out using a spoon!! I'm happy with the final five though so that's good! My friend/framer made the mounts for me, and I got them sorted yesterday, so this time I've done it so these mounts are a standard size (12 by 14 inches) so will fit a standard shop bought frame...I figured that would also help be a selling point so a buyer wouldn't have to get a specific frame made...or have to change the mount to suit the frame.

Anyway...on a totally different note, last night lots of people were down on my local beach, Longsands in Tynemouth. It was the annual Foamy Fest which is set up by locals and designed to raise money for a local oncology ward. So there is an obstacle course set up on the beach as well as a BBQ, cakes, a raffle and a raft race. Theres normally a surfing competition if the waves hold out as well, but typically on our beach if an event calls for waves there isn't any. It was still a good laugh though! I thought I'd test out the new Instagram movie app 'Hyperlapse' as well...thought I would film my husband and a friend in the raft race competition...

Please note their raft is the one with the red 'sail' and was made in the space of 2 hours the night before... definitely made everyone laugh though...also...they didn't win!

Right well...better go and sort my school bag out for tomorrow...

Gannets, Herring and Sore Shoulders...

Last week of the summer holidays!! Seven long weeks almost over! Don't worry, I'm not going to complain at having to go back to work. I'm quite looking forward to getting back. But I have been making the most of this last week...my husband has been at work 9-5 so that's left a lot of time for me to be on my own in my studio.

Firstly, earlier in the week I worked on these gannets...

I wanted to keep this carving really simple. Gannets are beautiful birds, and their greeting with their partners is this lovely dance with their beaks. They can often be seen diving into the sea on the North East coast, so I wanted to create another lino print of a beautiful north sea bird...

This was my messy desk during the printing process. I use Caligo relief ink, it's a lovely ink to use, oil based but washable with just soap and water. In fact, as far as I know the company have won a few awards for the sustainability of their product process. The colour is from pigments rather than dyes, and I think it actually has that lovely old art room smell. Not the sort of quality you usually look for ink a printing ink, but I like it!

So, this is just a photo of the ones that came out well. To the left of this photo is a handful of rubbish prints. As I've said before, I print everything by hand, so getting the ink from the linocut onto the paper isn't always the easiest. I have taken to use the back of a spoon, which transfers the ink a lot better, except printing this lot out has definitely worked my shoulders!! They were aching quite a lot after this, let's just hope I don't end up with huge shoulders and strangely muscly hands!!

So, the ink on these prints take a few days to dry properly, so I decided to start working on the drawing of the shoal of herring I posted the other day.

Even just tracing the original drawing onto tracing paper and then transferring it onto the lino took a good hour or so...

I spent a bit of time looking at it wondering whether to cut out all the white, or to cut out the black lines. Obviously if I cut out the white then the print will come out looking like the drawing, so I decided to have a go at doing that first...even though it will be a lot more fiddly to carve and take a lot longer, I think it will be the better print.
 However, if after this I do decide to do the alternative, I can always just use the original drawing again and transfer the print to a different piece of lino...not sure yet though, I guess it depends on how this one turns out.

So started the carving yesterday afternoon. Going to carve all the outside areas before I move onto the more fiddly fish. Assuming it prints well, I'm not sure how many of these to print out...We shall see I guess.

Right...I guess I've got more to carve...

Bargains, supplies and the bunny...

Today has started off pretty well! I hope yours has! I decided to go and do some shopping...nothing exciting sadly, just food. But that's quite an achievement for me. I hate shopping in a supermarket more than anything. Despite going with a well organised list I always feel like it's one miserable hour that I will never get back. So about two years ago I started using Sainsbury's for their online delivery. This suited me fine- order online, talk to someone for two minutes while they bring the food to the door and then it's done for another week.
 Well, today I decided to mix things up a little bit (my life is just that exciting) and go along to Whitley Bay, a local town just a five minute drive away.
 My husband and I mainly eat Asian food (after a few months in Asia about 8 years ago we've been addicted since) and thankfully there is an Asian food shop just down the road from the greengrocers. So after wandering around a few shops and getting what I need, I discovered I'd saved £25 on my normal weekly food shop! And to be honest, the food looks a lot fresher! So, can't wait to do that again! Shopping in small shops is nowhere near as tedious as being in a supermarket, so I think I can hack it, especially for a weekly saving of £25!!

So, that was me in a good mood already!...Then, when I arrived home I discovered my art supply order had finally arrived!
 After unpacking and being quite excited at my new supplies, my bunny decided the paper was all hers...(she likes to lie against things)

I'm not quite sure what the attachment was mind. She's quite a fan of ripping paper though, so these things can't stay in the living room for long before I have to put them in my studio - which is definitely a bunny free zone!!

I also came up with this drawing based on a shoal of herring yesterday...

The drawing is A3 in size, so I thought it would make a really cool busy lino print! Quite looking forward to getting this one carved out, but I actually think I might start with a drawing of two gannets that I drew the other day.

The problem now that I have the lino is which drawing to carve first!?!

Tynemouth wander, sketching and the beach...

The last few days have felt a lot like Autumn! Not sure what it's been like everywhere else, but I've been freezing! I'm waiting for quite a few new art supplies to arrive (still)...totally forgot it was a bank holiday weekend so they may well not be here till Tuesday or Wednesday. So instead of just twiddling my thumbs I've been sketching quite a lot. Trying to come up with some new designs...

Not sure which one to do next. I thought the middle gannet picture would look quite good as a reduction print. I'd like to do the hermit crab as a print as well, but I'd like to make that quite a detailed one...I guess we shall see which one I fancy when my supplies arrive!

So, this morning I woke up and the sun was shining through the window and it felt quite summery!! Even my little kitchen window herb garden is looking quite happy...

So after all this cold grey weather over the past few days I felt I had to take advantage of it! It's true what they say, if it's nice and sunny it makes you feel nice and sunny! So my husband and I went for a little walk just along the seafront...

This is the bottom of our street, Longsands Beach. As you can see, the last of these flowers are clinging on to summer...they were looking beautiful a few weeks ago, I should have taken a photo then!

Just around the corner from Longsands is another beach, King Edwards Bay...this one is a lot smaller and has the impressive Priory Castle standing at the top. When the tide is out I'm just attracted to the rocks, I love to rock pool...so we headed for those rocks at the foot of the cliffs in front, and walked around to the entrance to the North Pier.

I decided to be a bit artistic with this one. I love black and white photos, I just find them a lot more emotive. This is the North Pier in Tynemouth, it marks the entrance to the river Tyne which runs through Newcastle.

 This part of the pier is always closed off to pedestrians, which is why they've left it without any railings, and with the lovely old cobbles and railway line running to the very end of the pier...the part to the left of the photo with the wall and railing is for pedestrians...not that it's a particularly exciting walk...

Anyway...I love little wanders like that around where I live. Especially if it's before it gets busy.

 Right...Now it's almost time for todays F1...

Country Living and *whispers* Christmas thoughts...

Right, first of all, I'm sorry I uttered that word. I'm not one of these crazy Christmas lovers who has her tree up in November...but, I do like to start thinking about it enough in advance to start making things.
 Between my husband and I we have just over 20 people to get gifts for, and I like to make things! 
  Granted this isn't always possible for everyone...not yet anyway, I've not yet discovered something that everyone likes. As any family, everyone is very different from each other and it's quite hard work...so if you happen to think or see anything that would make good gifts for a range of people then please share!! For some people it get's quite desperate as I really want to get/make them something they'll love but it's really difficult!
 But likewise, if any good ideas come my way I shall also share! Let's all have a home-made Christmas this year!!

Also...totally unrelated to Christmas, some good news came my way today!! I was accepted to sell my artwork on the new Country Living magazine shop!! Very exciting! (I think anyway).
 I love the magazine, I'm the kind of person who flicks through and mentally stores ideas of things I could do to my house, or things I want to buy just because they're pretty. So when I discovered this morning they wanted to put my artwork on their online shop I was over the moon! 
 So you can imagine what I did today!! It of course called for new photos...what do you think of a few of these?...

They look good right? I was happy with them anyway. The photo spec on the website called for simple/plain backgrounds or in brightly lit 'lifestyle' shots. I'm not a one for posing things against a super plain background...I like to get a little of my personality across in all my work, even in my photos.

I have a strange little 'lean-to' against my house; it can't possibly be called a conservatory...it's nowhere near that grand. It's very small, has no lights and there really isn't anything much you can do in it...

So as you can see...not much room in their to do anything at all...however it does have natural light! Which is a great bonus, so this morning I set up this very basic spot to take the photos I showed you before...

So there we go...that's all it takes! 

So, check out my new section on the Country Living Magazine website folks! Let me know what you think. Love all your support folks! It means a great deal! 

Not that seabass again...

It's been a bit of an odd few days, I don't really feel like I've done all that much, but I think I probably have. Been on my lonesome for most of the time as well, so that's probably why I feel like that. (Busy husband and all that)

So, I've been making sure to amuse myself in my studio...it's quite odd having all this spare time if I'm honest...I'll not say I'm secretly looking forward to going back to school yet though!

My Folksy shop has done quite well this week, it seems to be becoming noticed which is great news! (And I really thank everyone for supporting me!)
 Due to a total lack of money lately, getting some orders in has meant I've been able to put in an order myself for some new supplies. I ran out of lino after my mackerel print, and thought I'd be twiddling my thumbs, but I've done quite a bit of drawing in preparation for more lino which has been great - lots of ideas!!

I've finally got my latest Gyotaku piece up on my shop as well. (I know right? It has taken me a while to be happy with the mounting process!) I really do love them though, I love how the capture all the little details of the fish...every single scale...

The huge old wire spool we found on the beach a good while back has come in quite useful to pose my artwork on for photos as well! (That's the worn looking wood behind the first photo) Got to use the free stuff available on the beach, it's just a waste otherwise! 

Right so...that's me caught up, I shall post some of my next lino print ideas in a day or so...

Mounting, cellophane and Australians...

Mounting prints that is!

That's pretty much been my day today. After I annoyed my friend and framer by asking him to cut me around 30 different mounts, I have spent the day getting them all put together. And I still have a lot more to wrap in cellophane.

What do you think?

Everything looks a lot more professional when it's been mounted. But after asking various different people, I figured if I sell them like this and wrapped in cellophane then they're protected. They wouldn't need to be framed straight away. But if they did, then they already have the mount which will lower their costs.

I have to admit though, I am really happy with the mackerel print. It really is my favourite. The ink has come out really smooth and I kind of like how the middle one looks like he has a slight little smile on his face. 

Anyway...things have been a bit quiet in my studio lately. My husbands family from Australia are visiting, so there has been a few family outings, and I don't have enough money to splurge on art supplies at the moment sadly, so things have slowed down slightly.
 I think next week I will start making needle felt Christmas decorations, I'm hoping to do my first ever market by the end of the year. A bit scared...I don't have a whole lot of confidence when it comes to that sort of thing, but hey, as the Geordie saying goes; 'Shy bairns get nout'