Following on from my workshop with Sarah Burns I started using rubber stamps to make new pattern experiments. After building up a pile of paper, I realised that it would be more useful to have one place to work on patterns so that I can see them side-by-side. So I treated myself to a giant scrapbook (decorated with my Alpha-set) and started stamping. It’s good to be able compare patterns, seeing them side-by-side so I can decide which ones have potential and which ones are duffers. It’s quite an addictive process!
Lockdown – A Pocket Manifesto
I’m pleased to announce that a small edition of my new book ‘Lockdown – A Pocket Manifesto’ is now available in my online shop.
It’s digitally printed (thanks to printed.com) from my original hand-carved rubber stamp illustrations on 150gsm fresco gesso paper. It costs £6 (+p+p) and £5 from each sale will go to Bristol North West Food Bank, who really do need all the help they can get right now. The original book was made for a mail art project for Artists Book Club (ABC) at UWE and was inspired by all the things I identified as being important to focus on at the beginning of the Lockdown...
A cheery new project
Cryptic treehunter
Glaucous macaw
Javan lapwing
The first couple of illustrations (on the left) were a bit patchy, so I re-did them in a simpler style and feel much happier with how they turned out. On the top is a Po’o-uli and on the right is a New Calendonian Lorikeet.
Building up shapes gradually in layers with hand carved stamps
This one has been percolating in the back of my mind for a while now. I read a story in the Guardian over a year ago about a report published by Birdlife International that identified species that were at risk. As part of this report was the news that eight birds have already been declared extinct this century. I’ve done some research into these eight birds and decided I would like to illustrate them as a record of what has been lost. My initial idea was to use collage, but I was distracted back to my favourite medium of rubber stamps. My first attempts were a bit patchy, but then I started to get into my stride using a new technique of building up semi-transparent layers of colour, and wiping the stamps to set a softer, more painterly style. This is very much work in progress, but I’ve enjoyed the process of closely examining the birds to create the illustrations and to work in a slightly different way with stamps.