Diane Young Artist

Printmaker ~ Painter ~ Every Picture tells a story ~ Artwork ©Diane Young

Tag Archives: collagraph


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Sliding Doors for Scottish Mist!

As I wandered early in the day up the stairs, I was hoping that the Art Cooperative had not put my artworks into a dark cupboard somewhere in the coffee shop since, typically, I had left it to the very last day for clearing the wall.

It is funny how things turn out. There were just a couple of tables taken here in Woodruffs Café, and luckily not the one in the corner where I would have to awkwardly ask to shuffle table and chairs and irritated customers to get my stuff off the wall from behind.

“Have you sold that one?” a voice came from one of the taken tables as I grappled to take Scottish Mist down. Naomi (as I found out later) wasn’t just asking out of politeness, she was actually interested in buying it! She was just about to have brunch with her male companion. We had a detailed exchange about the situation, the picture, and with some umming and ahhing across the table regarding colour and price with said chap, and after they had consumed the brunch which had just arrived, I am very happy to say that I did make the sale.

But if I had not suggested meeting my friend on this day and she had not said let’s meet at 10.15am at Costa, and I had not left it to the last day to retrieve my pictures and so on, then I would not be going home without Scottish Mist.

I am guilty as most of us are of being irritated at things going badly; it is good to recognise when the world’s synergy conspires for things to work out well!

Collagraph original artwork of a stag in woodland sold by artist diane young

For more art, paintings, collagraphs and prints this is my shop link also at the top right of this page.


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New: “From the Land to the Sea”

I started this little piece using some sturdy packaging left from Christmas! The miniature artworks are made the same way a collagraph plate using a variety of materials sealed onto a mountboard backing with the addition of gold liquid leaf.

Now available from my shop just click the link for more details.


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Painting to Printmaking

Taking on a new technique can be good move for exploration, experimentation and rejuvenating creative energy! I really did need a change at the end of 2019 as I had ground to pretty much a halt. Collagraph printmaking is a completely different approach to painting and so now I have two very distinctive styles; painting up until 2019 and printmaking for 2020 and ongoing. Today my work is more textural, incorporating different techniques including monoprinting using dried leaves with nature continuing to be my inspiration.

The Kite below was printed using a mountboard collagraph plate, the leaves are monoprints added after the paper has dried and the bird has a little burnt sienna and yellow watercolour also reflected in small detail on the leaves.


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Paths of least resistance!

So many ideas and so little time! I mean lots of people have ideas and don’t necessarily go with any of them at all, but one of the difficulties of knowing that you are going to create something is ruling out all those amazing ideas other than the one you choose to run with.

I am not suggesting that any idea will turn out well, but the more you that try the higher your success rate, and a lot of attempts end up in the bin along the way!

Also theoretically it is a good idea to go with a theme. Choose an idea and beat it to death, until you run out of steam. All those mistakes and all those gains made with something intentional in mind.

Since this is all theory let me show you some practice! OOPs I have to reveal that I haven’t followed my own advice at all!

I am inclined to representative work, I love making images of animals and birds. But then I can get a momentarily distracted by other ideas I am interested in too and head off in a different direction. I really would like to do a series based on images produced by NASA earth observatory. They have this amazing website of beautiful images from space being continually updated. I am as fascinated by these as I am fascinated by drone imagery of our coastline here in the UK; seeing the landscape from above and then understanding it from the ground is really interesting to me.

The work below is the Arkansas River from space. This sort of work moves me toward the abstract and helps me exercise less restraint on my colour combinations.

NASA earth observatory images here

The original artwork below is £45 for sale online here


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#Winter ~ #Spring ~ #Summer

It is snowing here at the moment, but we know the days are getting longer and if you look carefully new Spring growth has started already. In a few weeks all will have changed; here’s looking forward to Summer.

Collagraph print showing a bumble bee with gold ink detail on the stripes.
The Golden Queen of Summer Collagraph with gold ink detail. For sale £60 artwork £75 framed Free P&P Shop here.


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“To The Sun and Back”

A kite in flight.

My latest work – Collagraph Print with a 24ct gold leaf sun. To buy online click here .

More about me here: https://linktr.ee/DianeYoung

See how the gold leaf changes with the light!

“To The Sun and Back” – Kite with 24ct gold leaf Sun.

Different angle showing how gold leaf changes in the light.

Shimmering sun

Close up – can you see the gold fleck in his eye!


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#giftsofgold original art

Seahorses Aquamarine is an original work of art. A collagraph print hand finished with 24ct gold leaf. Full details below….email me if interested or you have any questions diane@dianeyoungartist.com / FB mssg or check out my instagram and DM me there.

Available to Buy £195 plus P & P

Framed Total size 32cm x 42cm (with A4 aperture)

Collagraph print handpulled onto 300gsm Somerset Velvet paper using Cranfield inks. The image has been hand tinted with watercolour and finished with luxury 24ct gold leaf. Gold leaf gives a unique look in different light..


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Sundarbans #Seahorses

I am trying to hold back on this work in progress and not ruin it by any rash decision making.

The seahorses and the arc are collagraph print, and what appears as coral is watercolour based on the pattern made by the Sundarbans where hundreds of rivers meet the Bay of Bengal.


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Blueprints #prussianblue #collagraph #printmaking #

It is coincidental that a printmaker’s single colour choice is often prussian blue and that this happens to be one of my favourite painting colours.   Keeping the inks simple is best for me at the moment whilst trying to get the shade via the texture right, as well as the consistency of the ink, the paper and the press!  Prussian blue’s history is extremely varied; if you are mad about colour history there is plenty of very interesting facts about Prussian Blue here.