Bass Rock revisited

I have to hold my hands up and admitt I am fairly obsessed with the Bass Rock. I love the sea and I love drawing and painting the sea and the Bass Rock gives focus and drama. Also, in East Lothian, it is hard to avoid this enormous white rock sticking out of the sea like a picturesque thumb. I do live in fear of becoming 'The Bass Rock Lady' and have resisted doing another print. But I do get alot of enquiries about my first Bass Rock print...

This print tries to capture drama of the white rock gleaming in a dark winter sky.

One of my favourite things as a child was a block of Neopolitan Icecream sitting resplendent in its cardboard wrapper in the aftermath of a sunday lunch. Every time I do a seascape blend of ink I am reminded of that joy.

 I do love a good blend. The joy is the tricky magicky shortcutness of it. E voila, sand, sea and sky in one deft layer!

 And finally the print.

(c)Huff(ed)

Back in April I received a facebook message from someone saying they liked my stuff and would I create a poster image for a childrens show. I was beyond pleased at such flattery and the opportunity, but was gobsmacked when met Shona and Andy and realised how fantastic their work is.  I was commissioned to create a woodcut for the show Huff . The brief was to use the word Huff and use the texture of the woodcut to create the feeling of straw exploding on the paper. Many blisters and discarded bits of A3 wood later we arrived at the image. I am honoured to have been involved in the project. The show is fabulous, go and see it if you can.

sketches

We spend a heavenly long weekend in Mull last sumer and while there I developed a new obsession with finding a way of illustrating the combination of rock and grass that covers the Island. I love how Francis Walker captures it in her screen prints. I may have to resort to screen printing as I just don't find relief printing subtle enough. Below are some sketches that will hopefully become prints.

Here is a view of Fionnphort. I love the yellow boat in the fore ground. I need to work a little harder on this composition. I put the colour of the rocks underneath and then the green on top with watercolour and picked out the detail with a pen.

This is an old croft I came across walking back from Erraid to Fidden Bay. Again I used watercolour and then added detail with a pen. I love the sense of dereliction found in old farm buildings. The old tin roof and landrover add enough colour to pique my interest. And of course the sheep!