20:20 Box of delights 2015

Its a wonderful thing to receive a box of prints from fellow printmakers across the country. This year's 20:20 print exchange event hosted by Hot Bed Press in Manchester has brought me a lovely selection of techniques and approaches.

My box of delightful prints fell into 2 main categories...

Pattern -

and Landscape -

Am I allowed favourites? Here they are ... 

I love the etching 'Estuary' by Lynne Thirkell and Kate Thornton's circular screenprint. 

Thank you also to June McHenry for the terracotta seaside, Alison Craig for the jade 'Dyfi Pools and Jade Emma Ellis for 'Population 139,403' the potopolymer intaglio.

Thank you to Hot Bed Press for hosting, Looking forward to next year.
Follow this link https://www.flickr.com/photos/hot_bed_press to see 20:20 prints from all over the UK

20:20 hot off the press

I left this print needing more tonal variety. The last stage was therefore a spit bite aquatint. I stopped out with all the usual varnishes but also used a chinagraph pencil in the bottom left corner to add the suggestion of tractor tyre marks, below

One quite well organised (for me) day later and I had the edition printed. Pre-soaking paper makes the world of difference on editioning days.

Multiple happiness - all 25 prints plus a few to ensure consistency

Signed, numbered and ready to be packed off to the lovely people at Hot Bed Press in Salford

'Tug of war' etching, 10 x 10cm on 20 x 20cm paper

The final print - The title had always been there, not a tug between the telegraph poles, nor a remembrance of a war zone. Not even a farmers battle with current economic pressures - although all these interpretations are quite satisfying - but, more prosaically, I was talking to my brother on the phone while I did the original sketch. He told me about winning a tug of war competition - I always think of that when I look at this sketch. I'll leave it up to you which interpretation you want to go with...

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.