My new lino cut.

I have been busy working on my Lino-cut for the 4th International Biennial Ex Libris. All that is left for me to do is cut the wording, Ex Libris & Communism, which is the subject for this Biennale. After much thought and planning, I decided to change my mind, simply because Communism does work in certain situations, notably in the insect world.

I decided to use Bees as my subject, they are more liked than ants and have a recognizable honeycomb.

As communism success stories, bee hives survive through strength and numbers, an ideal communist state where all work for the hive as a whole, from the queen, the workers, the guards and the nurses.

A Greek Eutopia...

The print is a reduction lino-cut in three colours, now I can finish it off and start in on the oils again.

PS. Nice was very nice, I'll post some pics later...

It's a Nice time of the year..

I am heading off for our break in the south of France this week. I am looking forward to it, and I hope the break will give me an impetus to work.
I have had no interest in painting for the last few weeks, due a great deal to missing Dubh. We have her ashes back now, and she was given a nice sunny spot in the garden down by my pond and studio, visible while I work.
I will take a sketch book with me to France, and I may do some work while there but I intend to try and have a relaxing week, soaking up the spring sunshine, and come back ready to get stuck in. See you when I get back.

Springtime.

I have spent the last week catching up on the garden before the spring growth really starts. I also had to remove a large portion of the weed from my pond, the lack of frost this year meant that it hadn't died back over the winter.

Now all that has been done I can think about my invitation to take part in the 4th International Ex-Libris biennale in Serbia this coming November. The print needs to be sent early April as the deadline for receipt is April 30th. The subject for this years Biennale is Communism, so I have one or two ideas I am working on but they are still in the planning stage.

The execution of the lino-cut is relatively easy, planning the artistic side of the work can be difficult due mainly to the small size of the piece. The dimensions must be no more than 15 cm by 7 cm. This limits the amount of detail I can use, so the piece will need to be bold and strong while relying on simplicity to express the meaning behind the artwork.

I have been sidetracked a little by the antics of the Blue Tits nesting in the nestbox outside the window, and the tendency of the male to attack his reflection in every reflective surface in the area. Every time I move one, he finds another to deal with..