Friday, June 18, 2010

Moo Cards And More Etchings

I have been happily etching away this week and I am quite pleased with the results. The lower picture will need to be enlarged as it is a very long image. I just happened to have a long piece of perspex and knew I had the perfect drawing for it. The mermaid image is one I drew a long time ago and I love it but I am not impressed with the Rhenalon plate that I used in place of perspex. I bought some from Lawrences' as I thought it sounded like a nice alternative to perspex but it is very thin, flexible and very slippery to etch. Because it is so thin there is very little plate mark and the actual impression is not as sharp as I would like. I will definitely re-etch the same image but either on perspex or copper. I think my inking and wiping technique is improving too. It is really wonderful to pull the plate through the press and draw back the paper for the first time to see what the etching is like. I may use one of the two mermaid etchings I have produced to try out watercolour washes just to see what the effect is. I am also going to try out some alternative ink which is washable in soap and water and is different from the oil based Charbonnel ink. I made a terrible mess of shirt and trousers when inking up the other day. It gets everywhere....!

Craster Mermaid Etching (Craster is a lovely little fishing village on the Northumbrian coast where I am sure mermaids play)

The Tree Is Heavy But The Birds Are Light Etching


We were asked to carrying out feeding duties for the kitties at my brother and his partner Lesley's house two weeks ago. A great photo opportunity for me and I spent quite a long time with them in the garden trying to get the perfect shot. They complied with my requests a few times. Sheba, the fourth and eldest of the cats, was far too sleepy to join in the feline rumpus.

Pixie (mum) keeping an eye on the youngsters


Poppy showing off among the wild strawberries


Abby beautifully framed by the greenery in the garden


Trevor Kemp was born in 1935 and trained as a painter/printmaker in Kent and later at the RAA. He is retired now due to ill health but continues to draw and paint. His wonderfully graphic prints are displayed at the Emma Mason Gallery here but these are my two favourites.

Horned Rams


Cows Under Tree


I found out from fellow blogger Gillian of Iheartcrafts blog about the offer of free moo cards except for £3 p&p. They all have Etsy and Moo info on them at the bottom though. I thought I would give it a go as I have always wanted to try out Moo business cards and this was a cheap way of seeing if I liked them. I chose 50 of my own designs and I am really pleased with how they turned out. A lot of the images had to be cropped to fit but on the whole they look really good all together like this. Now I have seen what they are like I may decide to order some proper ones without the advertising on. The offer still seems to be on although it says it expires at the end of April 2010 so if you want to try them out get over here asap.


A beautiful river which runs through a nearby town. One of my favourite places for walking.




I love these beautiful pieces by textile artist Karen Young. She has lived on Somerset's lovely Levels since 1986 and you can see that a lot of her inspiration comes from the area. I think the depictions of Glastonbury Tor and the pollarded willows are very evocative. The Tor is one place I am determined to see myself one day. Karen uses her own photographs, dyed fabrics, painted papers and stitchery to create her lovely works. You can see more images of her work on her website here.

Grey Green Tor


Somerset Rape


One Man, One Wife


Aren't these quirky wooden mechanical toy figures gorgeous? They are by maker Jane Ryan who studied Fine Art at Chelsea and then moved to Cornwall. They are made from reclaimed wood and are beautifully decorated. You can find these at the Janet Bell Gallery here.

Man And Dog


Love Machine With Three Gulls


Rigby Graham is a very well known painter/printmaker who trained at Leicester and originally became an illustrator and muralist. He is now known as one of the foremost landscape painters in the country. I particularly love his beautiful graphic woodcuts, four of which are illustrated below. He has always had a particularly strong connection with Ireland which has inspired a good deal of his work. There are also two books about his work which can be found on his website here along with a huge array of his art.

Doneraile Goat


Tretower, Powys, Wales


Brighton Pier


Annaghdown Castle

18 comments:

Art4Sol said...

I especially like your "tree is heavy, the birds are light" drawing. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have nature so close to you...but without the droppings!
I also enjoyed viewing "one man,One wife"...very beautifully crafted!
Thanks again for sharing so much!

Caroline said...

Hi Cathy! I'm enjoying reading about your etching experiments - some lovely work coming from them too. Love the kitty pics - Pixie is a dead ringer for Tia indeed! Thanks for the introduction to Trevor Kemp's lively work - I'll pop over to the gallery to check out more. What fun having your designs on the Moo cards - they look great!

Gillian said...

Oh how lovely to spend time with the kitties - they look sweet. The Moo cards tured out great too - don't you just love the packaging! G

Acornmoon said...

I am very intrigued by your etchings and the use of perspex. I wish I knew more about etching. Your cats are beautiful, I would love to paint them!

~ Phyllis ~ said...

I bet you are having all kinds of fun with your new "gadget" I love tinkering and learning how to use new tools.
Aren't Moo cards great. I have seen several from fiber artists. I might have to take advantage of that offer if it's still open.
Have a good week, Cathy.

Cathy said...

Hi Art4Sol. I agree with liking the idea of nature being close. I wish birds would come and land on our shoulders etc - but, as you say, definitely without the droppings...lol

Cathy said...

Hi Caroline. I am very pleased with the Moo cards and having all my designs on them reminds me of how much art I have created over the past few years. Tia and Pixie could almost be sisters.

Cathy said...

Hi Gillian. Yes, I think they have put a lot of thought into the whole package of the cards. It must be great fun to work for them and see everyones' designs.

Cathy said...

Thanks Valerie. They are actually my brother and his partner's cats but they are so cute that they could come and live with us anyday. I will take some pictures of my etching process on perspex when I next do one. I am find etching great fun.

Cathy said...

Hi Phyllis. Yes, the offer is still on. I think the response must have been very good. Etching is great fun but I wish I could weave like you.

sea-blue-sky & abstracts said...

Lovely post Cathy and it's great to see what you're doing print-wise. I really like the powerful work of Trevor Kemp - thanks for sharing, Lesley

Lynn Cohen said...

So much beauty here. (3rd cat looks like ours). thanks for sharing all of this.

Cathy said...

Hi Lesley. Yes, Trevor Kemp's work is really great, although I couldn't find very much.

Cathy said...

You are very welcome Lynn.

Artist said...

love the mermaid! and the scales are great too! must have taken a long time!

Cathy said...

Thanks Artist. The scales were tricky because you have to curve them around but timewise it wasn't too bad. I do love drawing mermaids.

ArtPropelled said...

The Tree is Heavy but the Birds are Light.... definitely my favourite piece of the day! I love the smudgey quality in the background. Jane Ryan's Man and Dog reminds me so much of our trips to Cornwall. I saw a similar piece with the white bull terrier and went back to buy it but it had gone. Throughout our trip we saw others but never the white bully with the black eyepatch which was the one I set my heart on since it looked just like our Bully. Anyway I was kicking myself for not buying the first one immediately.

Cathy said...

The same thing has happened to me Robyn. You think you are going to find the same thing again elsewhere but you never do. My motto now is "if you can't live without it, buy it" providing you can afford it of course.