20:20 edition day

With plate complete, paper torn down, and a variety of ink combinations tested I'm ready to go. The sketch I was working from was a quick plein air drawing completed on a summer afternoon when the grasses growing in the middle of the lanes had reached their tallest. My sketch had soft watery passages combined with linear work, kept quite minimal.

This crop from a proof was the key affect I hoped to achieve across the plate - a combination of  smudginess, expressive line and texture.

proof - cropped

Here we go then...

Inking up/Wiping

Wiped!

Hot off the press

Multiplied

'Aug 7th - grass tufted lane'
The final print measure 18x18cm on 20x20cm paper

So much for printing the edition on one day - who was I kidding, it took me two attempts to get it finished! Now all ready to be packed up and delivered now before it wings it way to Hot Bed Press. This link takes you to their website where you can read about the fab 20:20 print exchange.

Charcoal drawing - Looking back, looking down

A new charcoal drawing

This is a similar view to one I've played around with before, and looks back down the lane towards home, and also looks back to the weather we had earlier this year. Fortunately this lane hasn't looked like this at all this summer and is as hard as nails at the moment.

I'm playing with returning the emphasis to the foreground, putting the ground first, showing the path I'm about to step on... hopefully bring the viewer along on the walk.

Coast sketchbook

I've enjoyed two energising breaks away this summer, to the Cornish coast and the Welsh coast. On occasion sketching was done in spite of the weather, but there were some wonderful views...

After a bracing walk

Lunch break, mid way on a much longer walk

A sunny half hour caught by chance after driving through rain

The rock formations really appealed on this colder, windier day