Spring is sprung

Spring flowers linocuts
© Teresa Newham

About six weeks ago, when it seemed as if Spring might never come, I brought some tulips and daffodils into the house to remind us that it would arrive eventually. They cheered up the place so much that I decided to make some designs for a linocut.

source photos & sketches
© Teresa Newham

I did a couple of sketches while the flowers were still fresh in the vases and wondered if I could translate that sketchiness when I cut it. I printed the tulips first, and was so pleased with the result that I cut into the plate again to print a second layer of colour.

a sudden impulse to make a reduction
© Teresa Newham

I could have stopped there, but decided that a background was needed. I opted for a dark green, to bring out the bright yellow I'd chosen for the reduction version. I was so enthused by the result that I decided to do something similar with the daffodils.

Yellow Tulips reduction linocuts
© Teresa Newham

I was drying the prints in plate racks, to allow the air to circulate round them. But the paper had gone a bit wonky, so against all advice I laid them flat. Three layers of ink can take some time to dry, so they'll probably be back in the racks before too long!

simple daffs linocut drying in a plate rack
© Teresa Newham

I hadn't used the Laura Boswell linocut registration frame for mini prints before, but it worked well.  It's always so exciting to peel away the second or third layer to see what the print is looking like (assuming you've got the cut right, that is!).

printing the second layer of the reduction version
© Teresa Newham

Soon I had a veritable garden of daffodils drying by the radiator.  This time I'd warmed up the yellow with a touch of orange, and I was careful to make the second layer a light green so that I didn't have to make the third layer too dark.

Daffs II reduction linocut
© Teresa Newham

Now, of course, I'm wondering which approach I prefer.  Does the simple version of each flower work best, or was it worth doing those reductions?  I really can't decide, or choose a favourite.  I love them all!

pretty flowers all in a row
© Teresa Newham

Fast & Loose

Two Jugs on a Windowsill
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

As soon as I'd finished Borough Market I had an overwhelming urge to do something in a completely different style. I'd taken a photo earlier in the year of some tulips making a lovely shape in my favourite jug on the kitchen windowsill; the tulips had long since wilted but I could at least recreate the jugs from life and use the photo to recall the flowers.

So - completely different. No initial drawing, just putting colour straight onto the paper. Forget perspective, paint the jugs from life - OK, but the yellow one's a bit small, let's make it much bigger in the picture. Three colours only (alizarin crimson, indian yellow, cobalt blue). Concentrate on the flowers and the jugs and add the background later. Lots and lots of water and free application of paint - splash it about a bit . . . . from start to finish it took and hour and a half - and that included a break for a visit from the gas man and a cup of tea!

On the whole I'm pleased with the finished painting; ironically the least spontaneous part is the flowers which caught my eye in the first place. Painted from a photo, you see. I could probably make a better job of the jugs if I did it over again, but they'd be far less lively!

a touch of Spring

white hyacinths

© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

Back in the cold, dark days of January I bought myself a pot of white hyacinths; the gorgeous flowers and wonderful scent hinting at the springtime to come. They looked so lovely that I got out the camera; and I was so encouraged by the outcome of this impromptu photo session that I wasted no opportunity to capture the beauty of every bowl or vase of spring flowers that entered the house.

red tulips

© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

These were the first photos I'd ever taken which set out to be "arty" from the beginning; I played about with some soft focus effects and deliberately concentrated on close-ups to bring out the vibrant colour and delicate features of each bloom.

yellow daffodils

© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

The result is a small selection of colourful and evocative flower photos which I'm hoping to exhibit at this year's Herts Open Studios in September. Meanwhile they are now available as canvas prints at the marbretherese art and photo pro gallery on Photobox.

pink tulips

© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

Of course, now I've been bitten by the bug, I want to do more; some are already in the pipeline. Not just flowers, either; I've a few ideas which may (or may not) come to fruition later in the year. We shall see!