Summer Exhibition at RA: Prints and Drawings

I rather hanker after the days when  most of the prints at the RA Summer Exhibition were  hung in the  Large Weston Room . They used to be crammed in but I liked to be able to compare techniques and find tiny gems of exquisite mark-making. I thinks there's probably more of them shown  now in the mixed themed galleries ( which is a good thing )  although sometimes their quiet charms  can be overlooked  among the bolder  offerings

205   Hughie O'Donaghue RA

586   Hughie O'Donaghue RA

 I loved the  deceptively simple bold  shapes, colours  and compositions  of these by Hughie O'Donaghue . I'm a big fan of Barbara Rae  and I spent ages  comparing the differing moods of 3 similar compositions  So much to learn from her.

584 Barbara Rae RA

585 Barbara Rae RA

865 Emma Stibbons RA

It was the work of Emma Stibbons that once again blew me away. Having done some intaglio myself I can only admire the technical proficiency working on such a large scale. The piece below has everything : interesting dramatic  composition;  varied  marks;   tonal contrasts.

 607 Emma Stibbons RA

 608 Emma Stibbons RA

611 Emma Stibbons RA

606 Emma Stibbons RA

Hung next to these were a series of quirky bird prints by Cathie Pilkington. They could look a bit twee but the combination of marks and the slight menace in their eyes ( I wouldn't mess with these birds!) lifts them above just design.

613 Cathie Pilkington RA

615 Cathie Pilkington RA

 769 James Fisher

742 Kiki Smith

More birds - James Fisher has done  a series of woodcuts of notable women : Margaret Morse (1883-1974) was one of the world’s leading ornithologists, and author of Studies in the Life of the Song Sparrow (1937).

599 Nadi Attura

744 Jo Gorner

I'm drawn to the repetitive marks within the work by Jo Gorner, thinking how that could be interpreted in stitch

992 Felicity Warbrick

Liking the stark contrasts and sense of space in this work by Felicity Warbrick, I was astounded to read how she achieves it .  A sense of space also characterises this work by Amanda Danicic, the contrast between the figures and the intricate depiction of foliage in the background . It looks a bit like a patchwork quilt!  Which leads me neatly to my next post on textiles and 3D work

594 Amanda Danicic

Printmaking Week 1

Week 1 of  10 week printmaking course on Monday evenings at City Lit - from next week I'll be doing drawing in the afternoon too.

 After  general introduction and induction and brief discussion   with tutor on previous experience and what you wanted out of  the course  it was time to play with scraps of aluminium and a selection of  drypoint intaglio tools. I particularly liked the ' roulette'  and a dressmakers marking wheel.

 Then inking up , preparing paper and running it through the press. I'd forgotten quite how messy it was and what a good workout  turning the handle on the press is!

 The marks on this scrap of plate  were initially  a bit insipid,  enjoyed scribbling with a large nail.

I booked this course a while ago - while I'm not as far along with packing as  initially planned ( tho over 5 days Ian and I packed 53 boxes, mainly books,  and dismantled a wardrobe and 2 bookshelves ) , it does the trick in terms of  having some creative time without having to think too much ! Next week lino cutting which I have done before but good to have a refresher.