Holiday Greetings!

 Merry Christmas, and soon to be New Year!

It is nice to sit back and reflect after the hectic and joyous Christmas of 2023. It was wonderful getting the families together for a big feast at my sister-in-law's house. We lost the family matriarch last January, and every holiday since has been a first without her. Despite her physical absence, the traditions and love goes on.

I had been working on a small block print for my annual holiday-themed design. I usually create something new each year, and this idea came from a friend's yard display. 

I customized some of the designs with the addition of snowflakes, or a little paint here and there for definition.

I really enjoyed our own Christmas tree this year! It was just such a pretty shape and size. Each ornament is a memory. Many were made by my grandmother, or given to us by special friends.

We still like a real tree, and hopefully will until we can't physically put one up anymore! 

Best Wishes for the New Year!💚

Seascapes

 I'm just going to post a few pictures of possible future print ideas, from photos taken over the last couple of months. 

                                            Acadia Sunset

Acadia rocky beach

Rye, Driftwood Wedding Altar

More rocks

 Gray's Beach, Cape Cod

                                                                  Odiorne State Park

Working on my Christmas cards at present, but will be ready for something new soon! 

Jane

Strawberry Basket

 Finished up a little print that is only 5" x 5", but involved the use of multiple stencils and color layers.

The subject is a humble cardboard basket full of strawberries.

These are the two variations of the finished prints. One has a white background and the other a light green one.

Some of the steps that I followed for this design are below:

Red berry stencil used to print over the green.

Carved leaf design in the background.

The final prints drying on the line.
 

"On the Rocks" and Uncommon Arts!

I hope everyone is having a good summer in spite of the wide range of weather issues that we all have been dealing with this year. (Rain and flooding, super hot weather, just to name a few...)

I did finish up the "Rocks" print that I had started in the last post. I ended up using quite a few stencils to block out areas of different color tones.

A little hint of purple in there.

The final stage of the block

The final print!

Tomorrow I'm setting  up my tent for the "Uncommon Art on the Common" event in Goffstown. I'll be selling prints, and my friend Lori will be there with her incredible felted animals (as well as prints). 

It is local and fun!!  The forecast is for sunshine and low 80s for temperature. We're good to go!

More Rocks

 Greetings on this humid and showery day! It's been very rainy this month, and I'm looking forward to some sequential days of sunshine. Unfortunately, the extended forecast looks like more unsettled weather ahead.

I'm working on a new idea for a block print that incorporates my fascination with rocks and the seashore. This time I'm going for a close up of some colorful textured stones. I'd like to keep the colors more pure as I add the layers, so I'm experimenting with stencils for the initial colors.

Two of the shells are real (not part of the photo)

Sharpie marker over pencil on a 6" x 8" Soft-Kut block

Tracing paper stencil

Layer 1 printed using stencil (some of the marker lines show up in the first prints)

 This is what the plate looks like now. I still have a few more to print of layer 1, as this will be an edition of 16. 

No matter the weather, best wishes for a great weekend!

Jane

Foggy Coast Block Print

 I haven't posted for awhile, but I wanted to update the progress on a recent print that I had been working on. The subject is based on a photo I had taken on a visit to Portland Head Light in Maine. That day it was so foggy, you could barely see the water, and I liked the color scheme created by the mist. I also enjoy working with rocky textures!

Here is the finished image.

The print size is 6" x 9" and is part of an edition of 16.

Hope everyone is having a good week! Cool weather with rainy intervals in our forecast here. We had a couple hot days in the 90s last week, but things can change quickly, and the temperature is only 58 as I write this. Well at least the rain is great for the plants!

A taste of summer in April

 You never know what to expect in April when you live in New England! Last week we had some record breaking warmth, with the temperature hitting 90 degrees. Today we're back in the rainy 50s!

We took advantage of the great weather and did a nice beach walk. It was chillier at the coast, but so perfect to be outside enjoying the day!

Hampton Beach

Rose breasted Grosbeak

Thrilled to see this bird back in our yard!

Started working on a new block print that incorporates my favorite subject matter- rocks and water.

first layer

I want to create the illusion of fog hanging over the shoreline, and depict all the muted colors of the rocks.

As usual I'm using Akua inks, a Soft-cut block, and printing each layer by hand. There are 16 prints in this edition.

Have a good week!

April News

 It's April Fools Day, but I'm not a trickster! I don't have the heart to play practical jokes on anyone, and cringe at television shows that pull pranks on people. That said, I love that it is April 1st, and we can kick March to the curb! Even though there is still snow in my yard, it's melting fast, and plenty of little green shoots are popping up everywhere!

I'm also happy to  have some of my block prints on display, and for sale at the Asheville Print Studio in Asheville, North Carolina. The owner of the studio created a "spotlight" show for my work in the entry area of the studio. There is also a larger curated exhibition of prints from 27 artists who belong to the Asheville Printmakers Group, going on at the same time. Check them out on Instagram!

 #ashevilleprintstudio.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Jane

Welcome Spring!

 I'm excited that Spring is technically here, even though there is still a lot of snow in my yard. We had a big snowstorm in my area about a week and a half ago, that left 18" of the wet and heavy stuff in its wake. Fortunately the sun is high in the sky now, and what's left is melting rapidly. 

I love this image of mourning doves sheltering in a large pine outside my window. Everything is values of grays and white, and the birds have balanced themselves well in the composition.

During the storm, I was working on a new block print of a decidedly more colorful image. 

I had fun texturizing the background of this print with a pattern of leaves overall. Here is the final result!

"Daffodils" 

5"x 6.5" 

Enjoy the longer hours of sunlight! Happy Spring!

New Print is finished!

 I finished the final layers for the "Stony Beach" print. I'm very happy with the color palette, and the textures of the rocks. If you have been to Drake's Island in Wells, Maine, you might recognize this view.

                                                                        

                                                   1/16        6" x 9"    Akua Inks

The final state of the block itself is kind of interesting.  I think I could make some black and white prints from it, then hand-color them with watercolor paints. 

Hope you had a nice Valentines Day with some special treats!

Stony Beach Block Print

I've been working on a new reduction block print this month, of a winter beach in Well's Maine. I've come back to this same subject, one that I previously used in other print. That one focused more on the sky and water than this one, which focuses on the rocks. I'm drawn to the colors of winter landscapes. There are so many grays and other neutral tones, which really appeal to me. This color palette works well for a reduction block, as the colors layer well. I like the texture of the rocky shore with all the different shapes and hues. 

The original Soft-Kut block outlined with a black Sharpie

I used a pale yellow ochre for the first layer

After the yellow layer, I carved away all the areas that will remain that color

This image shows a light gray layer printed over the yellow one 

Carving away more rocks

This is the stage that I am at now. I went back over the sky and water to add a little more blue to those areas of the print. I have several more color layers to print before this image will be finished.

As I type this, we are in the middle of a snowstorm. Probably about 8 inches or more. It's very pretty, but I'll need to be heading out later for the second round of clean up!