Number 1 on RedBubble for today!

My Poole Quay print is being featured on RedBubble's home page today. And it seems to have the Number 1 spot! Yey! :-) 

They're also doing 20% off today, just use code GIMME20

Check out the home page here -http://www.redbubble.com/found

Or hope straight over to my portfolio page here - http://www.redbubble.com/people/cecca-designs/portfolio

Dorset Art Weeks 2014

Dorset Art Weeks (DAW) is one of the largest open studio events in the country, with nearly 300 venues showing the work of almost 1000 artists. It starts this Saturday and runs for two weeks until June 8th. I'll be sharing Ruth Oak's studio which is above Poole Printmakers, who are also having an open studio for DAW.

Ruth is a painter and printmaker whose work has a strong element of drawing: "I have always been inspired by landscape, while much of my current work takes inspiration from poetry and works with words, sometimes taking the form of artist’s books. The “vessel” is a subject which frequently emerges in my work and I see it as a symbol of myself, a person making a journey, a life or a view of the world, the self in relation to God, the inner and outer world. It is a personal but also universal symbol to which I hope all can relate. I use a wide variety of painting and printmaking media and techniques"

Ruth has recently been working on a series in wood engravings to illustrate “Step in Anywhere” a book of poems by Jane Wilson. The original engravings will be on display along with the finished book during the open studio.

I will be showing prints and paintings from three main series that I have been working on over the past couple of years. The first is linocuts of Dorset views including Gold Hill, Poole Quay and the Red Arrows flying over Bournemouth pier.
My second theme is illustrative animals, from milkshake drinking monkeys to crocodiles nibbling on cucumber sandwiches. And lastly I will be showing a small selection of the portraits I have painted, many of which were the result of my membership of the inspiring international portrait artist's group JKPP.

Our open studio for Dorset Art Weeks runs 24th May – 8th June 2014, open daily (except Tuesdays) 11am – 5pm. To see details of our venue and all of the others visit the Dorset Art Weeks site.

Printer Wonderland!

It's Printer Wonderland at the Red Hot Press this friday evening! Among lots of other great printmaker's work I'll have a load of original prints, cards and handmade sketchbooks for sale and it should be a great event ~

Join us on Friday ...29th November 6:30pm - 9pm at our annual Christmas sale here at Red Hot Press.

Have a glass of mulled wine and see all our lovely handmade wares prints, cards, gifts, books... all made by members of Red Hot Press. We will also be displaying (and selling) the 20:20 2013 print exchange and original works made for the Cowprint Artists' Calendar.

Buy local and handmade this Christmas!

For more info see the Facebook event page -

Printer Wonderland at Red Hot Press, Southampton
 

Some of the prints and cards I'll have for sale:

 

 

Poole Printmakers exhibition at Highcliffe Castle

Poole Printmaker’s next exhibition is at Highcliffe Castle from 11^th September until 3^rd November. There will be over 40 framed prints on display, with even more mounted prints and cards available to buy.

Highcliffe is a beautiful building in a lovely location and on the 18^th of September they are having a Heritage open day which means it’s free admission all day (normally £3.25 for adults) and they will be opening later – with last admission at 7.30pm and the doors closing at 8pm.

We are making the most of the open day to hold our Private View which will be from 5:30 to 7:30pm on Wednesday the 18^th of September. There will be wine, soft drinks and nibbles and it should be a great evening!

 

 

Red Arrows come to Number 83, Westbourne, Bournemouth

Thrilled to have my Red Arrows linocut in Number 83's fab window display!

They've also taken 4 other framed originals, some mounted prints and some of my new Dorset linocut cards, which have started selling already!

 

Here's a pic of the window and some of the other prints and cards they're now stocking:

 

 

Number 83, Westbourne - Beautiful Red Arrows window display with my framed linocut on the right

 

Poole Quay, original reduction linocut

Happy Cat - Original engraving

Red Arrows, Bournemouth - blank greetings card from my original linocut

 

Gold Hill - blank greetings card from my original linocut

 

Folksy front page!

My Valentine's selection is on the Folksy front page!

Happy Valentines day!

Dorset Arts Week 2012 - Exhibition at Poole Printmakers

Dorset Arts Week started this weekend and Poole Printmakers have a beautiful selection of prints on show including a handful of mine.

The workshop will be open from 26th May till 8th June, with loads of beautiful affordable prints to buy & the opportunity to have a good look round the workshop and see artists at work.

Prices for framed original prints range from just £25 to £300.

Here are some snaps of the exhibition in the quiet before the opening:

For more info see the Poole Printmakers page here - http://www.poole-printmakers.org.uk/DAW_Page.html

For more photos see my Flickr set or Facebook page

Lost Star - A Titanic box set of prints & touring exhibition

Five months ago I was excited to discover that the Red Hot Press print studios were running a group project to create a box set of prints to commemorate the loss of the Titanic, a century ago this April. Not only could I take part in a group printing project, but I'd get to keep a box set for myself!

After mulling over a few different ideas I decided on a design which attempts to combine the elegance and majesty of the titanic with some indication of the human cost. I've only done a few etchings in the past, but I thought it would be the best medium to use for my quite complex and detailed design. 

Etching - the process

A waxy acid-resist, known as a ground, is applied to a metal plate, usually copper or zine but steel can also be used. There are two common types of ground: hard ground and soft ground. I used hard ground from a tube, which was spread on my zinc plate with a roller, coating it evenly and thinly. The ground was then heated to harden it. 

Once hardened, I used a basic etching needle (you can use anything including a nail) to scratch into the ground, exposing the metal (but not scratching into it). I had already drawn my design out (in reverse) and a roughly traced it onto the ground as a starting point before etching. Once my design was completed I then submerged it in a solution of copper sulphate (much safer than other etching acids) which eats away at all of the exposed parts of the metal.  To test the strength of the solution I had already created a test plate and tried out various etching times. My plate was exposed to the copper sulphate solution for about 9 minutes, which resulted in a good strong bite (the lines were etched deep enough so that they will hold enough ink when printed, and not too deep, so that they are too wide).

The plate was then removed from the solution and rinsed in water. The ground was removed with turpentine.

Printing

I used a piece of mount board to push ink into the etched lines of the plate. The next bit was the most time consuming - cleaning the plate with scrim and tissue, to remove all of the excess ink from the surface of the plate. This wiping leaves ink only in the incisions. Once the plate is fully inked and carefully wiped clean it's ready to be printed from. I used heavy, somerset paper which had been soaked and patted dry. The zinc plate was placed face up on the etching press bed, and the damp paper laid over the top (being careful to leave an even edge around the plate). The press blankets are then placed over the paper (usually with some newsprint between paper and blankets to prevent getting any marks on the blankets), and the print run through the press.

My final etching

Captain Smith and Officers ~ SS Titanic

Details:

'Lost Star' - Box set overview

Number of Artists involved: 16

Number of Box Sets: 27 (each containing 16 prints)

Number of Box sets for sale: 10 (each containing 16 prints)

Price : £300 (a fantastic price for so many original artworks!)

The 'Lost Star' box set of prints will be on a touring exhibition:

The Concourse Gallery of Southampton Solent University Michael Andrews Building, East Park Terrace, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 0YN. The Private View is on 12th April 2012 5pm - 7pm.  The exhibition continues until 22nd May 2012. The opening hours are Weekdays 7:30am-9:00pm, Sat/Sun 9:00am-4:00pm The Link Gallery West Downs Centre, Romsey Road, Winchester SO22 5HT  The Private View is on Thursday 5 July 6pm - 8pm.  The exhibition runs from the 2 July – 6 August. opening hours 9am - 5pm every day. Here is a sneak preview of one of the other beautiful prints that is part of the set:  Save our Souls (Collagraph) - Ruth Barrett-Danes For more info on the Lost Star project and the Red Hot Press see their website