Inside the whale

A while back my naturalist friend Hannah Lawson let me borrow her Minke whale vertebra (I've photographed it here with my sheep vertebra just to give an idea of the scale).

The plan was to make loads of drawings of it over the summer but somehow I've not done any. Its such a dynamic and beautiful structure I've just been admiring it for months. And now quite rightly Hannah wants it back.  I work hard and I'm not too much of a procrastinator but sometimes you just miss the boat...

'Rock Pools'

These magical little pools among the rocks and rushes on the moors fascinate me and are finding their way into my work. They come and go depending on the rainfall and are often a blue surprise within the acres of green/gold rushes and the rich brown peat. These particular examples are on the rocky ridge above Widdop Reservoir on the northern side, one of my favourite haunts just now.

More Collaged Prints

Really getting into messing around with the collaged print scraps concept now.  It seems a long time since I started doing this type of thing last summer for one of my Watershed Landscape books.

Originally these ones here were going to be 3 sets of CD case sized triptychs but once I tacked them on my studio wall I liked this arrangement and don't want to separate them.  They look nicer in real life - sometimes digitising work seems to crudify the colours.

Now all I need is a nice squarish frame and a title. 'The World Above' I'm thinking, as the inspiration was the watery world of reservoirs and pools on the high moors round here, with the rushes, the cotton grass and the crowberry plants.

Collaged Prints

From bits and pieces of slightly imperfect prints - I hate waste - they can always be transmuted into something else.  These CD sized mini triptychs are for the Water Street Gallery in Todmorden. The show will be called 'Just in Case' and features work exhibited in CD jewel cases.

Watershed Landscape Project

Great news, the Watershed Landscape Project for which I was artist in residence last year has made it to the finals of the National Lottery Awards Best Environment Project.  As a passionate lover of the South Pennine uplands I feel really excited to have been part of such a well received project that has worked towards greater access and appreciation of our fantastic moors.

You can vote for the project here

Wild and Wonderful Widdop - Art Walk

A glorious day at Widdop, warm and sunny for most of the time with just a very brief shower at the end. There were 14 of us and everyone seemed to enjoy the opportunity to walk and sketch out in the landscape, the changing light and air movements making a dynamic vista to challenge and inspire.

It was all about taking part and having a go, rather than trying to create a polished artwork but I was impressed by the quality of work done.  There were some really marvellous drawings and paintings, full of of life and sensitivity - the quality you always get when working from real life.

Thanks to Pennine Prospects for organising the Walk and Ride Festival, a great way to get more people out in the magnificent South Pennines and trying out new outdoor activities.  There are loads more events going on over the next two weeks so take a look on the website here as there's bound to be something that takes your fancy.  Get out there before the big chill of winter sets in!

Widdop Sketches

Getting excited about the art walk on Sunday - the weather forecast seems to be indicate the prospect of some sunshine, can this really be true?...

These sketches were made a while ago and done from the shelter of a car whilst the rain hammered down.  The poor lamb, aghast and shivering, was cringing into a little hollow by the side of the road.

 I used a Derwent charcoal pencil on rough cartridge paper. The pencil was a bit clumsy and big for the scale of the drawing but I quite like the gritty marks.

Bank Holiday Widdop

Went up to Widdop reservoir on Monday to do a recce for the Art Walk on 9th September.  Typical August Bank Holiday weather, grey and grim and lashing with rain!  Not cold tho' and encased in Gortex from head to toe so dry on the inside.  Still plenty of lovely things to see, so even if the weather is this bad on the 9th we will be up for the challenge.

Art Walk for The South Pennine Walk and Ride Festival 2012

I'm back from a lovely sun-filled holiday in South Brittany and feeling ready to face the unstoppable winding down of summer and the approach of au..... (can't bring myself to say it yet)!

This year more than ever it seems vital to take advantage of any opportunity to spend time outdoors so with this in mind I'd like to mention an Art Walk I'll be leading as part of the 2012 South Pennine Walk and Ride Festival.

My walk is on Sunday 9th September and we'll be circumnavigating wild and wonderful Widdop Reservoir with frequent stops to make creative responses to the upland waterscape, come rain or shine!
You don't need extensive art skills, just a willingness to have a go and to try something different.

There are still places available so if anyone is interested in joining, follow the link below for more details and booking information.  There is no fee for this walk and Widdop is accessible by public transport until the end of September.

Walk and Ride Festival website

This shot of Widdop Reservoir was taken earlier this year during May when we had a very brief spell of unusually hot and windless weather.

July Flame

Something wonderful was nearly in my grasp.  I reached as high as I could go but somebody else was a little bit taller so it disappeared for ever.

Landmarks Exhibition

I have 5 of my woodcuts on show at the Water Street Gallery in Todmorden as part of the Landmarks Exhibition which is now open and running until 9th September.  This is a lovely exhibition with varied work by 25 different artists including Sally Barker who was involved with the Watershed - Inspired By Landscape Project I worked on last year.

If you have not been to the Water Street Gallery I can highly recommend it as a small but well laid out and friendly gallery with much to see.

More Flooding in the Calder Valley

Aaargh! after a lovely weekend of socialising and light hearts, hideous reality returned as the monsoon like rain attacked again on Monday and roared through the town. This time the studio cellar flooded like a swimming pool, we were down there bare footed, baling it out for about 3 hours and heaving buckets up stairs.  It came in so quick, just gushing in through the base of the wall.

Great team work saved the day and the musicians guitars and drum kit were saved although they lost their carpet.  Now all 's a bit soggy and whiffy, though only rainwater, not sewerage thank goodness.  Some of my furniture stored down there got damaged but nothing I can't cope with. We've had to drag loads of stuff up into the gallery to get dry, fat chance because its still raining.

I still feel lucky because I have a dry home to go to not like the poor unfortunates whose houses got swamped even though they live up in the hills.  Some people I know have both their home and their shop wrecked, its so sad.  And there's likely to be another flood alert on Friday...

Still flourishing at 92

I've shared this photo all over the web and make no apologies as I think its such a lovely picture of Joan my dear neighbour and Hebden Bridge Treasure.  It was taken in my abnormally tidy studio space, complete with flowers to help encourage the festival feeling in our Open Studios.

I had so much stuff to tidy away, I wonder how I'll ever find anything again as lack of time and rising panic necessitated the willy nilly ramming of things into any available hidey hole.  Oh well, it was worth it to ensure my visitors didn't come to any harm.

Hebden Bridge Open Studios 2012

I am based at Brooklyn Studios in Hebden Bridge and this weekend we are taking part in Open Studios, open 11 am to 5 pm.  Whatever the weather we will be there to offer a warm welcome to all our friends new and old so call in if you are passing; there's lots of new work on show and an opportunity to talk to the artists about their work.

The chickens have flown the coop

The dead ducks have departed the dovecote, the Godwit has gone awol and the owls have been out manoeuvred. In other words I've had to deinstall my bird skulls from the Grassington Dovecote as the festival has ended and they're now just a bag of bones back in the studio.

I have to report that the Tyvek has done a brilliant job.  The skulls have been outside for nearly 3 weeks in the rainiest and windiest June we've had in decades, and they are still perfect but with the addition of a few spiders webs - most appropriate.  I was really concerned that the InkAID assisted digital printing might wash off in the rain but its fine.  Isn't it great when things work out and materials live up to their promises.

Floods in the Calder Valley

Last Friday the rain was stupendously heavy and prolonged all day and into the night and inevitably the brimful rivers and canals flowed over their banks and into the little towns along the upper Calder Valley.

Fortunately no one was drowned but Saturday morning revealed scenes of sad devastation to homes and businesses in Todmorden, Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd.

Its grim to see communities that had just about been weathering the recession OK now reeling.  The only good thing to come out of it is the upwelling of support and community spirit that's seen large numbers of volunteers helping with the clear up and people raising money for the fund to help those worst affected.

Amazing things have been achieved in a few days and many of the affected shops are now opening.
Continued trading means jobs can be saved and wages paid - Shops and Tourism are the main industries in Hebden Bridge and provide decent jobs especially for child-rearing women who choose to work part-time. So please do buy local if you are in the area.

On a personal note, I had artwork in Spirals the lovely Fairtrade Eco shop owned by my unsinkable friends Helen and Sarah, but luckily for me my big framed woodcut print was in the upstairs room.  Two galleries that I was due to exhibit in during July have been affected, one in Todmorden and the other in Hebden Bridge and I'm not sure if both will go ahead now which is a shame, but of course completely minor in comparison to those artists who have had their work destroyed.

Despite all this, there's so much still going on in Hebden, there's life in the old town yet! especially this Saturday with the postponed Handmade Parade, Mytholmroyd Gala and the start of the Hebden Bridge Arts Festival. And the following weekend its Open Studios which I'll be fully participating in again at Brooklyn Studios.