Clay Dolmen

I used a photo of Carreg Samson, which is a +- 5000 year old dolmen located in Pembrokeshire, Wales, as inspiration for this piece.

No, I haven’t been to see this dolmen in person yet but it’s on my list. I wanted to try something different in the interpretation – so out from hiding came the Fimo clay …

Then after more fiddling, I played around with watercolours on the surface

Today,I decided to work more colour into it and went a bit crazy, in the process knocking all my soft pastels all over the floor dammit.

Eventually I decided to tone it all down a tad, layering some white and purple acrylic all over the surface, then spraying with iso-alcohol and water, manipulating the surface with a kitchen towel. I then sprayed it all with Winsor & Newton varnish sealant … so it kinda sparklies!

Dumbass that I am, I didn’t take enough photos of the finished thing before I put it in the frame and of course, there is a fair bit of reflection at the moment – hence taking photos from the side but you get the general idea. I kinda love this thing now.

‘Clay Dolmen’ – mixed media and Fimo clay on paper – 30x30cm

Dry point

I have been reworking an older plexiglass drypoint study I did a while back of a dolmen (duh, what else). I received an electric engraving tool set for my birthday from one of my good friends (and art patron 🙂 ) … so thought I’d see how it performed on the plastic. I really enjoy doing dry point printing, as it’s quite tactile and relatively easy to do. You don’t need to roll out ink onto a surface and then apply with a roller or brayer – you can just squeeze the ink out directly onto the plate and rub in gently with paper towels and bits of rag. Then once you have wiped off the excess ink, you can print.

I used the back of a metal measuring spoon to do the printing this time – although when I go for my next printing workshop next week, I will be able to use the actual press – quite excited to see how the two processes will compare.

I made three prints in total – first one was using Fabriano all media paper. In all cases the paper is soaked in cold water first, allowed to dry so that it’s not shiny and then used for the print.

‘Dry-point Dolmen’ – Fabriano all media paper

It is very indistinct, largely because of the thickness of the paper and me taking off just a bit too much ink. If this had gone through the press, it would have been far more successful. I still like it though.

Next, I tried plain old cartridge paper – from my A2 sketchpad – I cut two pieces to size.

‘Dry-point Dolmen’ – Cartridge paper 1

The result of the lighter paper is obvious – far more detail from the marks has come through and it’s not gloopy or too dark. Drypoint typically creates a soft edge (almost furry), which is what I love about it. I was pleased with this but wondered if it is was a ‘one off’, could I do it again?

‘Dry-point Dolmen’ – Cartridge paper 2

Well yes, I can repeat the process – this time I didn’t remove as much of the ink and it has created quite a strong print. Spot the gloop though. (Left hand orthostat – lol).

It’s fascinating (for me) to compare earlier attempts at this same subject. The first set done from the original etching, I made use of a dampened Japanese paper (which is furry to begin with) and the ink bled all over the place.

Despite it’s ‘furry’ appearance, I really like this one, it has a kind of mystery about it.

Anyway, I am pleased with all of these attempts and my printmaker friend is also interested to see how well the plate performs under an actual press – can’t wait to show the results of that experiment later on this month.