A few years ago I went on a family canal trip, surrounded by open countryside and wildlife. It was very relaxing and inspiring too. I remember the evening we spotted a barn owl hunting for prey along the edge of the field. It drifted back and forth alongside the canal. I was truly captivated and my partner took a few photos of the graceful bird. I planned to use these photos for a piece of artwork but until now hadn’t. Sometimes these projects are meant to be worked on later. At the time, I thought I would paint a close up of the barn owl flying. I maybe would have used oils, acrylics or pastels for this.
Years later, I remembered this artwork idea that I hadn’t yet produced and was suddenly inspired again to work on it. Looking at the subject with fresh eyes, I felt that what was important for me to portray was the experience of watching this graceful bird in the landscape. To evoke memories from that trip, taking me instantly back to that narrow boat holiday and that tranquil night gazing out at the barn owl.
With the new direction for this artwork, I just had to decide what technique to use. Having been working in linocut and collagraph, I couldn’t choose between the two methods. They both have their merits. Linocuts are superb for their graphic appearance; the technique lending itself to mark making to visualise the image.
Collagraphs meanwhile are excellent for their textural appearance. I was looking forward to reproducing the textures and sense of atmosphere with this technique. But the magical, illustrative side, I knew would be perfectly captured with linocut.
I set about producing both a linocut and a collagraph plate to print from, so that I could see how the same subject would look using these two different printmaking techniques.
Here is my original drawing and the linocut midway through carving. You can see my trusty Pfeil linocutting tools here and my SlipStrop used frequently to keep them sharp. These tools have made linocutting so much easier for me; cutting through the lino with ease.
Now that the linocut is printed, you can better see my mark making. I really enjoyed carving little sweeping dashes in the sky. I think they add a bit of movement and magic to the night sky. If you like this print, it is now available to purchase from my Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/GwensPrintPress
Having finished my linocut, it was time to print my collagraph version. This one uses à la poupée, a technique whereby different ink colours are applied to specific areas of the plate before carefully wiping back and printing. For this print I used a pale yellow ochre and bluey purple, the limited colour palette and interchanging the two colours throughout gives the print cohesion.
This collagraph print uses the same colours as the previous one but using the double drop method of inking. I first printed the image in the pale yellow ochre, then quickly cleaned the plate and inked it up again with the bluey purple ink. The result, I find, adds atmosphere and depth but doesn’t show the initial vivid colours on their own. I am beginning to use both these methods of inking for my collagraphs. The double drop for atmosphere and drama. À La poupée for brighter colours.
I am glad that I created this artwork using two different techniques. It has been exciting to see how the same subject can take on a different feeling depending on the technique used to make it. I hope you enjoyed reading this.