My son Rich gave me some super soft lino to try.......Which I did.  I cut the piece he gave to me in half,  as there was a smooth side and a grainy side to the lino and I wanted to see which of the sides produced the best print.  Whilst super soft lino is easy to cut I worried that it would be difficult to get finer details in the lino.  Firstly the lino is like cutting through toughened gelatine and the speed at which you can cut a design makes the printing process easier overall.  Secondly the grainy side inked up better, and as seen by the blue butterfly a better print.  The smooth side although a pleasing design was more difficult to get an even spread of the ink, especially in the orange areas.  Thirdly I was able to get a print using a barron as the lino has a spongy feel to it and the pressure of the barron gave up the ink to the paper more easily than hessian backed lino.  Overall I think that for small areas, super soft lino is a useful addition to relief printing processes, but I feel would not eliminate the longevity of hessian backed lino for printmaking.

Last Year I was selected for 'Here's looking at you" exhibition at the Beaney.  I was so pleased to be taking part and with the exhibition of wonderful artwork.  My painting is the one in the middle of these two beauties!

New work for 2018! I have been experimenting with a new ground called BIG, which I purchased from the wonderful printmaking shop Intaglio in London.  The plate is an aluminium plate that was worked on with an open bite after the initial etching.  The excitement at pulling the first print to reveal the image never fades.  

After a recent visit to EDF Dungeness power station, the AVA have been invited to exhibit their work for a period over the spring and hopefully summer months.  This is in response to that visit, one of a small series of prints ..........hope they like them.

Pleased, excited and a little sad that my etching is making its way to a new hot home in Dubai.  I hope that the new owner will have as much pleasure from my little prawn as I had making it. 

In my endeavours to make art on a daily basis I have focused on one or two things.  Colour, texture, shape and form, the basis of all art........but what to feature? Well as I love all things nature I decided to take a shell as my focus.  These are Whitstable oyster shells and can be found in their millions on the pebble beaches at Whitstable.  My one has been bleached by age but normally they are beautiful greys and blues.  That reminds me..... I must go and collect a few new ones soon!

Still experimenting with colour shape and texture.  The background needs a little work, but overall I'm pleased with the result.

Trying to create a piece of work every day.........I think I will have to use Paul Fowlers' technique of numbering the artwork!

Summer seems a long time ago now that we have had 2 days of rain and I have had to put a jumper on and wear a coat outside.  Poo! At least the weather is making me get down to some work.  Small paintings based on oyster shells..... Roll on summer!