Cordelia

Meet Cordelia - or Delia- she's Alasdair's sidekick. (he's from a previous post... that I don't have time to link right now!) Anyway, I was thinking about incorporating them into some Halloween cards. Maybe. First, I've gotta have a plan :) Hope you have an exceptional Friday. The sun is glowing through the leaves here today... blue skies all around. That pre-autumn warmth is on!

Valentines and Orcas

Crayon rubbing

The Carved Woodblock

Orca watercolor by my 5 year old son.

I just love the watercolor my son did at school yesterday and had to share it. Kids have really got 'it'! Here's a valentine I've been working on.... inspired by Scandinavian textiles... and probably some socks I used to wear as a child. I have a few more in the works and I'm anxious to finish carving so I can print!! The cards will eventually land in my etsy shop.

Laguna Air-Dry Clay

I had to share this fabulous find... kiln-free clay! It is a high quality, smooth clay that is very easy to work with. (it feels like regular clay that I've used in the past) . It's leather hard in 24 hours and 'all dry' after several days depending on temperature, humidity and thickness. I bought it at the local art supply store.

Mostly I was thinking of Christmas ornaments and stamping my smaller woodblocks into it for mini-wall art. If you love to work with clay but don't have a kiln or access to one... this is a great alternative! You can paint it with acrylics and who knows what else. I'm preparing to experiment. It is not waterproof, though and you have to use a commercial water sealant for that - so, decorative use only. (no, I don't work for Laguna... I just tend to get overly excited about the possibilities of newly discovered medias!)

Spooky...

I know it's a bit early for Halloween stuff but... here is My Underwood in black and orange. Who knew an old typewriter could look kind of scary with the right color combination! This is a woodblock print on black linen and light orange ink. Likely to become a pillow.

Odette

Preliminary crayon rubbing on woodblock.

This lovely lady is the latest mini print I've been working on. She's looking a bit serious and of course she's in progress. I'm getting close to printing 3-4 new images and will post them soon!

Beachy Print

Here is one of the prints I was planning on layering... I like how it's coming along. Now, I need to do more carvings for this series so I can layer 'em over and over. Printing days are so great, it's kind of like Christmas in the studio!


Note: I have a big sale on woodblock prints in my Etsy shop right now that includes free shipping!

Egg Scribbles

Oops, I left my pencils and pens out... and a little person came along and added to my hand-colored print. Whah! It had to be the only one I printed on book paper and I liked the way it was working. That will teach me to leave stuff out. :( I'll be printing more soon.

Tomorrow I'll be going to the Farm Chick's Antiques Show, fun! If it sounds familiar, they have been featured in Country Living Magazine several times and the editors will be there for an appearance. Have a good weekend!

Fresh Prints for June

I printed on old book pages and like the effect. I used colored pencils but darn those old books... the ink smears when you color on them! It's not that noticeable but, it bothers me.

Purple Cone Flowers in orange and robin's egg blue! I love a shot of color now and then, I have a nice stack of archival colored paper I bought for woodblock calendars ready to go. ( I won't be making them this year, they were too much work and not many sold.)

Purple Cone Flowers

The Purple Cone Flower purse (yep, that's me... probably the most of me I'll ever post!)

Here's a new woodblock I'm working on. I love these flowers, I planted my first last year. I did a purse inspired by them and now a woodcut. (the purse sold - I'll have to make another) I think I'll do a more stylized drawing and print on fabric. (Click on the pictures for more detail!)

Barefoot Friends

Woodblock print 8 x 10 in.

Here's another new print for spring. It is also done from a painting I did years ago in art school, a favorite. I'd never sell the painting so making a print is a nice way to share it without really "parting with it". :)

Walking Home - Sausalito Ladies

Here's a larger woodblock print recently completed for the spring show. I did it from a painting from a few years back. It was just getting dark and these ladies were walking home in the damp, foggy evening, the Bay bridge off in the foggy distance...

Lavender Fields

Lavande Bleu, 4 x 4 in. Woodblock print, hand colored.

Ah to be in Provence again... maybe one day. This is a Mas (farmhouse) we stayed at in Arles, France. Until then, I have many memories and lots of photographs that I can work from. My mom has a Lavender farm on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State and I hope to do some domestic sketches this summer.

Dog on the Dock

Here's a diptych of 2 dogs... they were Chocolate Labs in real life but look more like black here, obviously! I have painted the background on both, but am not quite happy with it. Maybe I'll carve a pattern (or 2) and print them in the sky area with light colored inks. OR.... possibly chine colle in the large white spaces and water.... hmmmm.

Let Me In

Detail of a new woodblock print, hand colored.

On the Streetcar

A fresh print ready for the show. I made a few cards with it and also printed it on 'good paper' that I can paint on.

Jumping Off

Test print on practice paper, part of a diptych... I did some more 'edit carving' today, so I'll be printing it again.

Test Print

Here's a test print of Barefoot Friends in dark blue ink. I have more carving to do now!

Staircase to Unknown

Woodblock Print , hand painted. Image size: 4 x 4 in.

This print was inspired by a photograph I took on a trip to Nelson, B.C. It was taken in one of the fabulous old buildings there. I have a fascination with staircases, because you never know where they may lead... to some place magical, a secret room, an 'eye full' of the unexpected... who knows?! 'No Admittance' signs are especially alluring in these situations.

Santa Monica Pier

Woodblock print 4 x 6 in.

I took a photo of this lady reading a book sitting on a bench at the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles. She looks quite average here, but in real life she was absoutely eccentric... dressed in a tube dress and low heels, about ??? 70-75 years old. I caught a glimpse of her and knew she was a painting waiting to be painted! (perhaps in the painting I plan on... I can capture the 'real lady')

Another Kind of Painting

The Lovely Cellist woodblock print by Brenda 4 x 4 in

Still working on a few paintings before I can post them, but, now that my ink is dry after printing last week, I was able to paint some of my mini-prints. Here is one of them.