Disposable printing

This week I have been teaching recycled relief printing, normally for this, I use polystyrene trays from under pizza's. This time, I tried using the foiled lids of takeaway containers. As with the polystyrene trays you draw into the foiled surface using a biro, indenting the surface. Th results were very good, it is a quick easy technique and when the printing ink is even they are almost like etchings. 

Ryan Peltier I

Dancing with your dog? Star jumps with your dog? A fantastic fun illustration by Ryan Peltier

Dorian Bowan

Last night I discovered the beauty of Dorian Bowan's photography and in a desire to cling to the joys of summer and flowers, as autumn and winter darkness encroaches, it is a joy to look through these works.

Tony Asturino

Enjoying people holding their art for some reason this week. These tiny, sparkly, bright, joyful abstracts are by Tony Asturino.

Lucia Wilkinson

Putting some sunshine into a cloudy morning is Lucia Wilkinson of Bettyjoydesigns, who makes tiny cut out watercolours in her sketchbooks which she then scans and works into compositions digitally.

Roser Matas

Catalonian illustrator; Roser Matas combines highly skilled digital illustrations with her photography, creating a uniquely funny world that brings her imagination to life in everyone's reality.

Vivien Mildenberger II

 Some Roman artifacts illustrated by Vivien Mildenberger.

Vivien Mildenberger I

American illustrator Vivien Mildenberger's work often uses history as inspiration filling her illustrations with gentle observations from historic artifacts in museums and her own humour. Here as an example is a sketch and a piece of ceramics with a Viking theme. 

Suzanna Hubbard

Sketchbooks of Suzanna Hubbard telling the story of Martha Brown of Dorset the last woman to be publicly hanged. Martha Brown had suffered an adulterous and violent husband but was hung for his murder and the spectacle of her death had attracted a crowd that had included a young Thomas Hardy and Blake Morrison.
Suzanna Hubbard's simple style suits perfectly the telling of historic tales, the pared down style matching the simpler, uncluttered lives of historic figures.

Potatoe Potatoes

This week I am in the midst of teaching a six week printing course, and again revisiting potato prints. The more potato prints I do, the more I love them, their accessibility and adaptability make them a great resource, especially when you use lino cutting tools with them as you can achieve a great line. Layering them in different colours creates great mid century feeling designs. I don't like wasting food so if you ever see reduced green (inedible) potatoes they are the best use of this damaged resource.

Home

I am in the middle of a very busy time, but managed a day at home (to my parents) on Saturday, to take in the beauty of the Norfolk Broads, it is a magical landscape of sky and water and there is wonder everywhere. Looking forward to getting home again in November, this wide landscape and its inhabitants are a joy to behold.

Charlotte Ager

Swimming into the working week with these fab animated illustrations by London based artist Charlotte Ager.

Faye Moorhouse II

I love this image by Faye Moorhouse, it makes you try to lipread what the dog is saying, an impossible task, either from this illustration or in reality.

Faye Moorhouse I

Faye Moorhouse, 'cats top and tailing'. Faye is a wry observer of life; human, cat and dog life in particular capturing character in her expressions and gestural marks. The daily ins and outs, little snatched glimpses of humdrum nonsense and the extraordinary mundane events and actions that fill our lives.