Stellify 4 / EPC Edition #20 / in progress

24 Nov

Hope this finds you well. I’ve been somewhat waylaid in recent weeks, with five invitations to exhibit works in group shows around the UK, in the run up to Christmas. It’s great to be included, so no complaints of course, but it has meant that I’ve been running around to the framers, laser cutters, and so on, prepping the works to exhibit, instead of getting on with the latest projects!

That said, I have now carved out some time to refocus on the latest Print Club editions, and have spent some very enjoyable days moving the drawings from my system onto paper.

It’s always an interesting stage, to see how the colours and tonality translate from the digital onto the paper. There’s a lot to consider, with multiple fine adjustments to highlight and shadow tones, and hue shifts to make things really pop.

For most of these six new pieces, I’m looking for richly saturated inking, so there’s been a lot of time spent tweaking the palettes and adding density. I continue to be amazed by how much colour I can pack into each print if I really tweak it! The 10 colour ultra chrome ink set really does offer an amazing ability to lay down some really rich, dense inks.

It goes without saying that creating six new works at the same time, for this edition, has also added an extra layer of complexity, but one that is really welcome, there’s something to be said for testing out multiple iterations of an idea, to see where the images work best. My college tutors would be delighted to see that process in action, they always seemed hell bent on the idea of moving through as many ideas as possible, whilst of course, most practitioners will tell you that their first idea is often their best, and that’s often where the core focus lies. Maybe there’s some power in both approaches.

So, having completed the ink work, these prints are off to be cold laminated, which should give them a really beautiful matt sheen, and then they’ll need creasing, and I’m going to add some Daler mount board to the backs, to support them better when they’re displayed.

The final size has worked out at 28cm high, by 112cm wide, for the 6 panel pieces, a bit shorter for the 4 panel variant.

You’ll be pleased to know that I’m simultaneously completing a 2nd edition for the club, which I think will make for a really strong addition to the series.

I’ll look forward to getting them out in the post asap, and I’ll mail again to let you know when that has happened, don’t hold your breath though! As ever the series of processes to finish the work takes a little while to play out…

More to follow soon - thanks as ever

With best regards,