My most successful designs come when I am drifting off or doing something else, and my latest lino cut, 'Safely Graze' was scribbled out during a meeting. My ADHD means I find it hard to do many everyday things, but I find I can concentrate better on what's being said if I have a pen to doodle with on my works notepad. Thankfully I work in an enlightened and supportive environment, so I'm not only allowed to do this, but am encouraged to do so. Once I had the basic idea down, I worked it up at home into a more solid sketch and began carving it out. It's a tense time, as I fear making a wrong cut and stuffing the whole thing up.
As I was shaping the framework of the landscape, I realised it would work better with an extra tree line; the extra weight gives more balance to the weaker side of the design, where the white sheep's head is resting.
I had thought this would be a straightforward printing, as it is only one colour with the red poppies tipped in by hand. However I had to sort out a recurring slippage problem with my proof press and went down a rabbit hole renovating my old nipping press, before finding a solution which worked with the proof press...all good fun. So that took several days off my schedule. But eventually, by the end of the week, I had a run going. I've decided to keep this one as an open edition, to make it a little cheaper than my last 'Summer in the Park' print, which was an editioned run due to how darned tricky it was to get the registration right.
This one hasn't been all plain sailing, as the poppies are hand stencilled with pigment ink and I can only do a few prints at a time before my concentration slips and I start making mistakes. (I have a little cat design lined up next and it really is going to be simple and sweet!)
I have the first batch of 'Safely Graze' for sale here, in my Etsy shop; selling prints is helping me get through a difficult summer (as needle felt sales are very seasonal) so every purchase is valued and enables me to stay here a little longer.
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