June Leaves

I've been neglecting Tumbling Hills these past few weeks; I knew it would be a bit of a struggle running two blogs but I still feel I need to keep the work for my Watershed residency separate.  I've also been away to Cornwall for two weeks on my annual holiday.

Contrary to appearances I don't normally go on so many holidays, its just that this year they've been bunched together, partly to ensure I have a clear block of time for Watershed during July and August.
I've only been back a few days and I already feel knackered again, so in keeping with the post-holiday austere mood June's leaves are dried moor grass drifting on the peaty shores of Warland Reservoir.

May Leaves

May leaves are all about the contrast between bright green and pale gold.  I've given up sticking to the mini habitat at Salem Field as too much was destroyed during the 'improvements' earlier in the year. Instead I'm making a 12 month reflection on any leaves I come across during the year.

All the leaves here are from my holiday to the North Norfolk coast.  The reeds down there are beautiful and correspond to our Pennine rushes - they shimmer and change colour depending on the light and wind.

Sand Wraiths

On a recent visit to North Norfolk, blazing sun and scouring wind created this amazing effect of mesmeric movement like swirling smoke or mist - to my mind writhing sand wraiths;  If you stared for too long it made you fall over but was more beautiful than sinister; unlike the topsy turvy building which seemed weirdly disturbing.

Pennine Twite Revisited

Recently Pennine Prospects asked me if I could extend the Twite woodcut as they needed a more panoramic format.  I wasn't sure if I could but I said I'd give it a go.  In fact it was very straightforward.
I just continued the design onto another woodblock about a third as much again.  The extra bit is on the right.

When the print comes off the press there's a thin white line between the two blocks but I have a technique for dealing with this thats pretty successful. I'm pleased with the final result.  I will be exhibiting some of my bird prints from 15th July to 15th August at The Gallery, Masham, North Yorkshire in a group show called 'Impression' featuring the work of 6 printmakers.  This Twite print will be my main attraction.

On a different topic, I'm finding it strange having a separate blog for my Watershed residency. I think about my work as a single entity no matter how disparate some of the parts are, so it feels weird to filter stuff for Catchwater.  I expect I'll get used to it over time.

Catchwater

The new blog I mentioned earlier is now up and running.  Its for the Watershed Landscape residency and's called Catchwater.  I'm not sure how it'll all pan out having two 'art' blogs on the go but feel its the least confusing option.  Click here to go there.

April leaves

Who knew that Horse Chestnut leaves come out of bud as eccentric green lampshades? certainly not me until this spring when I noticed these beauties glowing in the late afternoon sun of early April.

And just now, as April draws to a close following a frenzy of sun-triggered growth another surprise:

A goldfinch feeding on a tree festooned with pale green carnations - which turn out to be the newly minted fruit of a young elm tree.

Pennine Prospects new web site

Its all happening at Pennine Prospects, the organisers of my residency - well, they've just uploaded a dynamic new website for the Watershed Landscape with lots of info and pictures like the one above which I've borrowed, showing all the artists and writers in the project, and here I've got my own page which is quite exciting.

Its a shame I don't look more happy in the publicity photos taken last August at the Cow and Calf above Ilkley, but I'd just had some awfully sad news and was only just holding it together.  Still, the bird book gets a good airing.

The website uses motifs from the series of woodcuts that Pennine Prospects commissioned from me last year.  I especially like the way they've been faded back so the effect is quite subtle.

I've decided I need a separate blog to document my ideas and work in progress for the residency and am busily setting it up.  I like to fiddle with the html a bit to customise the look, so there's still a bit to get sorted before it goes live.

Inspired by Landscape - The Watershed Project

Hooray! today marks the official start of my Artist's Residency in the South Pennines.  I can't wait to get going.  Its been over a year since I applied for the job and my mind has been racing since then. Inspired By Landscape is a 3 year project involving 3 artists and 2 writers.

I'm following on from Sally Barker who was the Year 1 resident artist and has concentrated on making temporary sculptural interventions from local materials and photographing them within the landscape.  Alongside Sally, resident poet Andrew McMillan has also been creating new work but will now be handing the pen on to Writer Char March for Year 2.

There was an article about the project in the March edition of Artists & Illustrators Magazine, where I made some rash promises about taking my portable etching press out onto the moors for public engagement workshops - we'll see if our capricious and sometimes cruel 'summer' weather lets me do this.

Here's a crazy little collage made from manila and security envelopes.  Its Lower Gorple Reservoir tower.

Northtown in black and white

Northtown in colour

I've finished cutting my latest woodcut, 'Northtown' and have pulled a few proofs.  I like it in black and white, but have also been experimenting with hand-tinting.  I'm reasonably happy with the result here but need to find a way to avoid streaks in the grey hills.  Printing this block is a challenge as its at the maximum length the press can cope with. Also there are many fine lines that can fill in easily so inking-up must be done very carefully.

March Leaves

Well putative leaves really, in a budding grove.  Today I've been enthralled by the exquisite tracery of the twigs against the dark river, the bright sky and as shadows on beech bark.

The hedge along Salem Field is even more depleted now as further drastic cutting has been done by the archery club. Feels like a set-back for my project to document the seasons in this tiny patch of land but I'll persevere for the time being and see what happens.

Woodcut Townscape - Northtown

Work in progress on another commission from Pennine Prospects, a woodcut of an archetypal northern town in the southern pennines - so, the town hall is based on Todmorden's, the co-op on Delph's, weavers cottages from Hebden Bridge, Saddleworth viaduct and so on.

Drawing up on the moor

There's nothing better for sorting the sheep from the goats or whatever that saying is, than a drawing trip up  Oxenhope Moor on a freezing March morning.  It might have been sunny but the wind seemed to come straight from Siberia as me and my friend Vikki got off our little local bus in the middle of nowhere high above Crimsworth Dean.

The solution -  hunkering down behind a dry-stone wall and working quickly for as long as the warming sun stayed out.  An opportunity to continue my obsession with the swirling moor grass, and for Vikki to show how its done with panache in her cheery red coat. Thats not a spelling mistake by the way - cherry red is an altogether different colour!

February leaves - the new and the old

Confusing I know, since its now March, but laser-cutting mania has prevented me from uploading anything new on another strand of work which involves documenting the natural growth cycle on a very small stretch of Hebden Water, alongside Salem Field.

Vile weather and various jobs kept me away from the river for a few weeks until the end of February so I was expecting a few changes, but not expecting to see that most of the shrubs and young trees I'd photographed and drawn in January had been chopped down!

I know its all been done with the best of intentions and in the name of tidying up the riverside walk by the archery field, but the amount of clearing seems a bit extreme.  Admittedly, the hedge laying looks well done and there will be loads of new growth very soon, but still it was a shock and I'm annoyed I never got to see the final demise of most of my old tortured leaves.

Not all the trees are gone of course, and its great to spot the first beginnings of Spring growth including tiny green leaves at last.

Tree House Book

Here's a couple more pictures of Tree House in progress. I really love the way the pages react to a raking light and can't resist trying to capture the effect on camera, although it always seems to be when its late and I'm tired, so not the best photos.

Folding the concertina is a bit tricky, as there's so much negative space in relation to the page 'frame'.
Maybe I should have made the borders wider... but actually I like the element of fragility and everything is fine so long as I don't get distracted whilst folding.

I haven't decided what to do about the cover yet - whether to have holes in it or not.

Tree House book is growing

Another session of laser-cutting at Huddersfield Uni yesterday.  Making the cutting template in Illustrator on Sunday night nearly drove me mad - all those branches - aagh.  The technician asked me if I suffered from OCD - cheek!

I was hoping to cut quite a few of these, but something was wrong with my file and the laser started recutting over already cut lines so I had to call it a day until I can sort my template.  I think I may have forgotten to flatten my layers in Illustrator, thus confusing the tiny mind of the mighty laser-cutter.  All very annoying because I now have to wait two weeks for another available booking.