The Gamekeeper's Cottage

Finally finished, I think.  Time to get it mounted and framed in the New Year, ready for its new owner.

Indian ink, gouache and watercolour - approx 11" x 7"

Christmas Greetings

I must have produced about 25 of the Christmas Rose cards, some were printed with white acrylic and some with Daler Rowney interference "shimmering green"- the latter being very effective on the black paper.  Each was individually coloured with acrylic inks and coloured pencil so there was a certain amount of variation in the final results.

A few of my cards in progress

I also made a few of the "Madonna and Child" cards - these were printed in white acrylic on a blue painted background, then pasted onto white card which had been splattered with silver ink.  I didn't think these were as effective as the Christmas Rose image so I didn't print any more after the initial trial run.

"Madonna and Child"

Dyrham Park

We chose a good day to visit Dyrham Park, near Bath, this week - sunny and not too cold.  I managed a quick pencil sketch of the cascade and ornamental pond, adding watercolour marker back at home.

Pencil, pen and watercolour marker - 5" x 4"

The park is home to about 180 fallow deer.  We took an interesting guided walk through the herd with an opportunity to take some close-up photos of the bucks (the does and juveniles being a little more wary in our presence).  After my journal entry for the day, there wasn't a lot of room left for my deer sketch!

Watercolour, pen and watercolour pencil - from my photographic reference

Ink resist progress

I have managed to get a bit further with my latest "ink resist" painting (started here).

The white gouache resist has been completed

Once the gouache is completely dry, Indian ink is brushed over the image

The Indian ink has now been washed off

The ink was washed off under running water and the paper stretched onto a board, awaiting the final washes of watercolour to bring it to life.

Bookbinding workshop

Last week I attended a bookbinding workshop tutored by Josie Brown.  Josie is a calligrapher and she also makes delightful artist's books.

The structure we were making was a Japanese butterfly bound book, this involved sewing the sections with four needles - supposed to be really simple, but it was also quite easy to get in a tangle until you got the hang of it!  We used various weights of drawing and watercolour paper, with the binding allowing the book to open quite flat - ideal for use as a sketchbook. The cover was an uncomplicated folded wrapper into which the end papers of the book were slotted.

The sewn book block to which I added painted end papers

The folded cover

The end papers in place

I decorated the cover with a thin strip of salvaged end paper

Josie also showed us how to make a slipcase.  We didn't have enough time to make this on the day, but came away with an instruction sheet for later use.

Paste grain papers

Another diversion - it is a while since I attempted some paste grain papers, but with some leftover wallpaper paste and some "hand-me-down" craft acrylics, decided I could spend a couple of hours playing with materials.

I mixed acrylic paint with the paste and used a small sponge paint roller to apply it to an A3 sheet of 100 gsm copier paper.  The paste stays wet long enough to impress or drag patterns into the surface.  On this occasion I used a plastic fork, a spatula, a silicon brush and a bottle cork.  The papers can be used in bookbinding, collage, etc. - the surface will smudge if it gets too moist when using glue, so I usually seal it with an acrylic medium.