This is an original collagraph print made from a combination of my photo of Venacher Loch in the Trossachs placed as textures of the trees and the loch within in the form of a rutting stag. These beasts naturally inhabit both the Highlands and the North Lowlands of Scotland. We were there in 2017 visiting friends when we went to Venacher Loch for a walk and a lochside supper when I took the photo; such a serene and beautiful location.
I have just managed to get totally distracted by this new editor, trying out all the new blocks for text, images, galleries, calendars and lots more. I was supposed to be checking out some photos on my PC of a trip to Dartmoor a few years ago as I want to integrate a Dartmoor scene with a rook profile.
Now I am back on track I have popped some photos in the new editor’s gallery below. Just click to enlarge and get a close up of these Rooky characters. As we drove over the moors the cheeky rooks were waiting in the pull-ins up on the hills and making begging noises for bits of sandwich! It was a great photo opportunity for me. They are such characterful birds.
I love macro photography; the great reveal of these photos once transferred to my PC never fails to amaze me. This shield bug needed rescuing from our porch after perching on a fairy light.
Some process images. I have cut through the drawing to directly carve out my mountboard plate. Glue is applied with cocktail sticks to make the lines which will be highlights or white; a very absorbing task! The larger image is where I am peeling the mountboard for the required texture. This is then sealed with button polish, dried, inked and printed.
Click Here to find the result!
It is hard isn’t it! Some decisions on composition are really easy but at other times they are really hard. I mean there are potentially so many variables, and reviewing the results, deciding on their worthiness is often really difficult.
Sometimes you want a certain detail left in, you think this detail is a good idea! But for some reason this great idea does not work. We want the design to hold together well and be more than the sum of its’ parts. Sadly this can mean letting go of something we really would have preferred stayed as part of the composition.
I had wanted a back drop and small details (telegraph poles) in these small collagraphs (5″ x 7″); but small details on small collagraphs made with mount board do not work so well. Possibly because working so small is not correct with this medium, or perhaps I need to hone my technique. I do like a graphic look, that is with a white background and sharp profile. I mean what am I doing creating something that does not fit with what I like in the first place!?
Truly I am quite new to the printmaking medium. And I should experiment, but my final print below is a lesson in the “less is more” motto.
Having taken out the small details that are not working, and also the backdrop, this is the final result which I feel works best.
What do you think?
Diane Young Artist 