Hand made cards

Cards are fun.I am trying out some ideas for different types of card.I think with hand made cards you need to be ahead of the game and have your cards prepared well in advance.I am thinking about getting a tabletop letterpress to give a professional look to the text on the card.

  We have like everyone else in northern Europe had a cold snap, not as bad as some but enough to keep us indoors.But despite this, the season is progressing and spring is just around the corner.These are some spring flowers from the garden,Mimosa,daffodils,twisted hazel and willow.This gives me another idea for an easter card and here are the preliminary sketches .

work in progress

This is the proof print of my current project.Its definately a work in progress as the plate needs to go back in the etching tank for further work to darken areas of the plate.My etching times have gone all to pot as the temperature in my workshop where I carry out all the dirty jobs is only 10 degrees today so I need to extend my etching times whilst this cold snap persists.I still haven't got round to making my aquatint box so I am stuck with using acrylic spray paint.The results are interesting but it does require a delicate hand with the spray canister.I am toying with the idea of using my airbrush with a resist,I think speedball do one,I am going to give this a try as its possible to vary the density of the spray, introducing a graduated tonal value in one go,could be interesting.By the way this is the lighthouse at Plumanac on the pink granite coast in Brittany not far from where I live.To be continued.

winter goings on

Getting back into a doing mode is difficult when the weather is so depressing.There is always the easy way out on a winters day to curl up in front of the fire and read a good book .Well there is a little respite in the weather so this morning we have ventured out on one of our favourite walks along the Leguer estuary,this is the towpath that starts in our nearest town of Lannion and follows the course of the river out to the sea .Today is very calm if not a bit threatening so waterproofs and hats are the order of the day.

The river winds it's way some 5 kilometers from the town before it reaches the sea.In times past ships would be towed up the river by teams of horses from a large holding pool at its mouth to unload their cargoes in the town. 

My workspace in my small den where I have been busy working on some new sketches .I very much want try and capture the weather conditions that we experience here on the coast in Brittany. 

We are in Paris this week looking after our French grandchildren so although its curtailed my printing work this week, is has given me the opportunity to visit some of the printing shops and to top up my printing supplies.