Wednesday 28 November 2018

Almost at the end of an interesting year...

Hi all

So as it somehow gets to the end of another year (how does it get faster each time?), I just thought I'd let you know about a couple of new prints and a couple of other things.

THANKS!
Before that, I'd like to thank you again for your support. Each year of being an artist is different from the last, and I can never really predict how things will go, but it has been a really interesting year. Having three exhibitions ('Print!', 'Entering Donkey World' and 'Extracurricular Activities') was something I couldn't have anticipated, but was very proud of. It was great working with Artfelt, Oriel Mostyn and A Month Of Sundays galleries, as well as artist Jonathan Wilkinson on the latter.

I've done a whole load of brilliant fairs (and co-organised one!), and taken part in several new to me too. Heading to Devon with a bunch of other Sheffield makers for the Contemporary Craft Festival was really fun, and the scale of the event really took me by surprise.

Commissions have provided a variety of interesting challenges too, with a number of private ones (landscapes, animals), greeting cards, record sleeves and book covers.

It has been an interesting creative challenge this year making a load of new work, at the largest size that I've ever attempted, with more colours then I've ever attempted, and in a style quite different to that of my 'normal' work (my 'Stone Composition' print series).

Anyway, I'll stop waffling on. Here are a couple of new prints I have recently created:

I've been meaning to create a magpie print for ages and I've finally done it! this is a two-colour linocut, alongside my other corvid prints (Raven, Jackdaw, Rook etc).
























You can find it now in my Folksy shop.


I visited Staithes in North Yorkshire earlier this year in the Summer, and absolutely loved the placed. It is such a picturesque village, and as soon as I got there I knew I had to try and make a print! It is again a two-colour linocut print, and you can find it in my Folksy shop.


























Finally...
Don't forget that the recommended final posting date in time for Christmas is 20th December 2018, so bear this in mind if you want to order anything from me in time for 'the day'. Full postal info for the UK and overseas is on the Royal Mail website. I'll be closing my online shops from 21st until 28th December.

Cheerio for now, and have a great festive break!!! x


Monday 17 September 2018

Extracurricular Activities!

Hi there


It is probably not the best kept secret but I've been 'covertly' working for the last year on a series of new prints that will be part of an exhibition running from 22nd September until 20th October 2018, at A Month Of Sundays Gallery in Sheffield alongside my friend and artist Jonathan Wilkinson (aka We Live Here). 

The exhibition is entitled 'Extracurricular Activities' as we have both been working on new pieces that are very different to what we are known for. We didn't actually realise each other were doing this until we were discussing what we were up to a few months ago over a pint or two. It seemed entirely logical then to exhibit our new works together!

Jonathan's pieces are semi-abstract paintings, and my new works are large screen-prints, based on drawings I have done of stones found on several beaches around the UK, including North Wales and Yorkshire. I have returned all of the stones to their respective beaches as part of the project, in case you were concerned!

I have had an interest in abstract composition for years now, and felt the urge to work in this way, blowing up my small pen and pencil sketches to create large shapes, and then experiment with composition and colour.

The results are seven new screen-prints, six large scale (76x56cm) and one smaller (38x28cm), entitled 'Stone Compositions'. All are between four and seven colour prints and printed on Somerset paper. The editions are very small, only ten of each print.


I made all of the prints at Sheffield Print Club, and hugely enjoyed the project, tapping into a side of my creativity that I hadn't really considered previously. It has been a real chalenge working non-figuratively and also with the complexity of the colours, overlays and registration. It was also very interesting working with the idea of abstraction and composition, and what feels 'right'. I hope to explore this area of my work further in the future.

The preview evening is on Friday 21st September 2018, between 6-9pm. Anyone is welcome to come along to see our new images, so please do if you are around!

Once the exhibition is over, any remaining prints will be listed in my Folksy shop.

Tuesday 10 July 2018

A visit to a vineyard..

Hi there

A few weeks back I was commissioned to create a linocut for a vineyard in North Yorkshire called 'Ryedale Vineyards'. They wanted a print showing their vines, farmhouse and a fox that visits them every so often. Here is the print. 


the vineyard print
They used the print on their posters, flyers and even a special ordinance survey map!

Anyway, they were a pleasure to work with, and seemed very happy with what I produced, and that was that, or so I thought....

..until I received a letter from them saying how much they liked the commission, and asking if I we'd like to come and visit the vineyard, do some wine-tasting and stay in their b&b accommodation for a night, for free!

I thought about this for around ten seconds, and then gladly accepted.










the farmhouse
So about three weeks ago my wife and I travelled up to Westow, North Yorkshire (not really that far Sheffield!). The countryside up there is beautiful, really idyllic rolling hills and big skies.

We were greeting by Michelle and John, the couple who run the vineyard and were given a potted introduction to vine-growing and wine-making and a tour of the vineyard/winery. I had no idea that the climate in the UK was warm enough for growing grapes, but apparently there are several species that thrive in the climate here.








the vines

the winery
We then took a look at the manufacturing part of the process, the big vats that the grapes are squished in, and the bottling process too. It is all bottled by hand, and they produce (and sell) over 9000 bottles of wine a year!


John and Stanley
Next came my favourite part (the tasting of course!). John talked us through the five or so wines they produce, with the addition of some very tasty local cheeses and crackers. The wine was really lovely, and tasted very fresh, perhaps something I hadn't associate with wine before.



At this point, another helper turned up, being Stanley the dog. Now, I'm not really a dog-person, but by the end of our stay I wanted to take him home with us. A lovely hound, he just followed us around hoping for a stroke and maybe a bit of stray cheese.
lovely Stanley

The accommodation was really quite something, spacious, comfortable and very stylish too. Our room was in the eaves of the farmhouse, and named the 'Fox' room. There were quite a few very nice fox prints on the walls. 


the Fox room
We slept like logs, after a hearty meal in the local pub (The Jolly Farmer), and the next morning had what was quite possibly the nicest fry-up I've ever had (again, all local produce).


possibly the best fry-up in the world?
So we left thoroughly impressed with the vineyard and the bed and breakfast too. We bought a couple of bottles of wine too. Why wouldn't you?
a souvenir

Michelle and John were super-friendly and helpful (as were their two sons). It is great to hear such enthusiasm for making their own produce and their plans for developing their vineyards. I hope we'll be back soon.

If you'd like to find out more about them, go to: https://www.ryedalevineyards.co.uk

Thursday 17 May 2018

(Kind of) like buses....

Hello there

My productivity feels a little like buses sometimes. I try as hard as I can to start new projects each month, but sometimes life conspires against me, then suddenly I create four new prints in the space of three weeks. Where did I get that time? Who knows?!

Anyway, I'm very happy to show you my new prints, plus a bunch of upcoming events and a workshop date too.

NEW PRINTS
This time I present to you two birds and several donkeys! 

I'm very drawn to the corvid bird family, so felt the urge to add to my collection with 'Raven' and 'Rook'. Both are two-colour linocut prints, in the same format as my previous corvids (Crow, Jackdaw and Blackbird(technically not a corvid!)). I really love working out the intricate patterns on these birds, which at first glance seem like a silhouette. They are both editions of 100, and available in my Folksy shop.
























Here is my new donkey print, entitled 'Yellow Donkey Dream'. It is a three-colour reduction linocut (meaning that you cut each layer from the same lino block and can't go back and print any more. Due to the nature of the technique the edition is tiny, only 5 prints, and I have sold all but one print! If you're quick you might catch it in my Folksy shop.











This print might look familiar to some of you. That is because it is the first ever 'donkey' print I created, ten years ago! To celebrate this anniversary, I have a retrospective exhibition at the wonderful Oriel Mostyn art gallery in Llandudno, North Wales. There will be eighteen prints on display, some rare ones, my 'Donkey Jukebox film, and a I have created a new version of 'Donkeys Disturbed By A Meteor Shower', as a two-colour screen-print for the occasion. It will be available to buy from the exhibition (along with various other prints), and possibly online once the launch has happened too. The exhibition, entitled 'Entering Donkey World' opens on 9th June 2018 and runs until September.










EVENTS

Northern Print Fair
Saturday 26th May 2018, 11am-5pm 3 Sheaf Street, Leeds LS10 1HD
It is my first time at this event, an off-shoot of the Northern Craft events in Leeds. I've heard very good reports, and if it is anything like the other Northern Craft events it should be mighty fine.

Summer Arts Market
Saturday 2nd June 2018, Liverpool Cathedral, 10am-6pm
I've not done this event before, but it sounds really exciting, and in a beautiful venue too.

The Contemporary Craft Festival 2018
Friday 8th until Sunday 10th June 2018, Mill Marsh Park, off St John's Lane, Bovey Tracey, Devon TQ13 9AL
Again, I'm new to this event, but it has a great reputation, and seen by some as the best craft event in the UK, so I'm looking forward to it!

'Entering Donkey World' exhibition
9th June until September 2018, Oriel Mostyn, 12 Vaughan Street, Llandudno LL30 1AB, Wales, UK
Celebrating ten years of making donkey-based prints, I have a solo retrospective exhibition, featuring eighteen works, plus my 'Donkey Jukebox' film. Most print works for sale, plus copies of the Donkey Jukebox soundtrack.



WORKSHOPS
'Introduction to Linocut' workshop

Saturday 29th September 2018
10am-4pm, The Art House, 8 Backfields, Sheffield, S1 4HJ

£40 per place

This workshop is an introduction to linocut printing. There are eight places, and during the day you'll learn how to create a one-colour linocut print (size 10.5x15cm). You'll learn how to compose your image, cut the lino and then print.

All materials are included, and no experience is necessary. Tea, coffee and biscuits are also included. There are eight places in total on this workshop, and all participants must be over 16.

To book, please email me on jgprintworks@hotmail.com

Thursday 15 March 2018

ermm.. March?

Hello there

Well, I must admit. it hasn't been the most dynamic start to 2018 for me. I caught the flu lurgy that seems to have ensnared most people I know for a good two/three weeks (saved from going a bit crazy by the brilliant Winter Olympics), and that illness seemed to zap my creative impulses for a further while too. And then the snow came (I think I'll stop there).

HOWEVER, I feel that I'm back and almost up to full speed again. I've a new print, a couple of commissions to show you, and some great events coming up, as well as a new workshop date.

NEW WORKS

'Llandudno' is my new landscape print. It is a two-colour A3 size linocut/screen-print. I created the image initially as a linocut, the printed the edition (of 60) manually as a screen-print at Sheffield Print Club

The view is from the seafront at Llandudno looking towards the Great Orme. In the foreground is a little of the Irish Sea, the beach, the seafront with its many hotels, and behind it the mighty headland of the Orme, with its winding roads and houses scattered around. Being part-Welsh, I am very fond of this place and visit as often as I can!

Here is the finished print, and some pictures from the process of making it. I think it was probably the most complex landscape I've ever attempted! It is now for sale in my Folksy shop:


COMMISSIONS
Here are a couple of recent commission I have completed:

The Transports - album/CD cover and inner artwork for Hudson Records.

The Transports is a folk ballad opera, based on the lives of two people sent to Australia as convicts in 1787. The record label asked me to come up with some artwork for a new version of it that summed up the themes within, and also how it relates to human migration in modern times. I found this a fascinating project, and settled on three simple ideas; the relentless sea, a swimming migrant and the vessel that took the first convicts to Australia (HMS Success).


























Ecclesall CE Junior School
I was asked to create this linocut as the school is closing soon, and they wanted something to remember it by. They will be selling prints of it, and other items to raise money for facilities at the new location in Sheffield.










WORKSHOPS
My next available linocut workshop is as follows:

'Introduction to Linocut' workshop
Saturday 16th June 2018
10am-4pm, The Art House, 8 Backfields, Sheffield, S1 4HJ
(Eight places available)

£40 per place

This workshop is an introduction to linocut printing. There are eight places, and during the day you'll learn how to create a one-colour linocut print (size 10.5x15cm). You'll learn how to compose your image, cut the lino and then print.

All materials are included, and no experience is necessary. Tea, coffee and biscuits are also included. There are eight places in total on this workshop, and all participants must be over 16.

To book, please email me on jgprintworks@hotmail.com



EVENTS
Here are the events I have coming up in the next couple of months:

The Hepworth Wakefield Print Fair 2018
Friday 23rd March to Sunday 25th March 2018 (preview evening on Thursday 22nd March), The Calder, The Hepworth Wakefield, Gallery Walk, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF1 5AW
I'm very happy indeed to have been selected again for this fantastic event! It is definitely one of my favourites. This year there will be over 50 printmakers and galleries, and if anything like last year I will be doing a fair bit of shopping myself!
(**Date rescheduled from 2nd-5th March due to the recent snow in the UK)


Print Stuff Saturday 28th April 2018,  The De Grey Rooms,  St Leonards Place,  York YO1 7HD
I took part in this event last year, and was mightily impressed! A great selection of contemporary print and publishing in a really beautiful location.

'Print' exhibition
25th October 2017 until April 2018, The Long Gallery, Sheffield Children's Hospital, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TH
I'm very proud to announce that I have been asked to curate a new exhibition at the SCH! It features 18 artist/printmakers, all who have had a big impression on me, in one way or another. All of the work is for sale, and there will be a limited edition of each print available (also to buy online). Some of the featured artists include Marko, Peter Knight, Helen Peyton, Neil Woodall and Sarah Du Feu.