What a wonderful wintery day

There's no snow but that's okay...

Relief prints

Since I've started to collage relief prints onto my paintings, I've received a number of questions about the process. I think most people find it all very baffling but it's no different than good ol' potato stamping. (sorry to shatter the illusion, kids!) My carving surface of choice is Softoleum which is relatively inexpensive and because of its soft texture I find it quicker to carve than wood or linoleum. (and safer...the psychological wounds left from my recent linocut injury now prevent me from ever touching the stuff again)

Simply carve your design into the surface (I use Speedball carving tools) and you're good to go. This is a good example of how a print looks on canvas, but paper tends to give you a crisper image, and you'll use less ink.

This particular repeat pattern was inspired by William Morris. The actual stamp I carved is pictured above. (it no scan so well, but there it is)

Frosting

My morning train rides into Toronto are quite lovely this time of year, and the views are always a welcome distraction. Sometime last week, Guelph sank into a bit of a deep freeze, and it seemed as though everything in sight had been sprinkled with winter’s fate. If edible, I imagine each bit of crisp landscape would taste as delicate and delicious as carmelized sugar.

SNOW!

It's no secret to anyone who knows me...I'm all about winter. So when I awoke this morning to find mounds of the soft, white, fluffy stuff, I could only jump for joy. Snow is one of the only things that makes winter bearable.

So to celebrate...I give you snowflakes and creativity, together at last:

Make-a-Flake : (seen above) virtual paper, virtual scissors...the only thing that's missing is a toboggan and Bailey's. Try it out!

TypeFlake : much more sophisticated than the above, a marvel to play with, and just plain brilliant. If you're a font freak like me, you'll love it. Email your creations to all your friends who hate winter. With any luck, you just may convert them.

(if Santa brings me a scanner for Christmas, or a digital camera, I can get back to posting real artwork)