I never imagined I would be invited to exhibit my artwork in a gallery, but when MOCO gallery in Halls Gap suggested I should book an exhibition a year ahead, I thought ”Maybe I’ll be ready then”. My work with wood grain and linocut prints has developed over this time and I am pleased to be able have them on show. Hall’s Gap, in the Grampians, is the ideal location for this exhibition, as the bush environment has many examples of fallen limbs and trees, stumps and hollows in the trunks of living and dead trees. These hollows are vital habitats for many bats, birds, possums, gliders and other marsupials. Hollows take many years to form, starting when limbs fall and organisms start to break down the wood, creating a cavity in the limb or trunk. Large hollows, such as those needed by black cockatoos for nesting, can only form in trees that are over two hundred years old. Due to land clearing and habitat destruction, there are very few of these old trees left, so there is much competition for hollows.
My woodgrain prints are created by firstly selecting a suitable piece of salvaged timber, perhaps firewood or a slice cut from a fallen tree. A thin slice is then sanded flat and burnt with a blow torch to raise the wood grain. For each print, the relief ink is rolled onto the wood, damp paper is placed over the inked wood and then the back of the paper is pressed with a glass baren, to transfer the ink from the wood to the paper. For my ”One Forest” series, I use an ink pen to draw tiny little trees all around the perimeter of the wood grain print. For the ”Hollows” series, I print over the woodgrain with a linocut print.
I am really delighted to have been selected by the Warrnambool Art Gallery as Designer of the month for May. I have framed works, matted artworks and printed tea towels available for sale in the foyer of the gallery until the end of this month.
Sleeping Quoll – Linocut, sepia ink on 100% cotton paper (56 x 56cm)
After three markets at Port Fairy in Nov/Dec and several artworks delivered to various galleries, I am pleased to be able to start drawing and carving some new linocuts for the new year. I am continuing to explore woodgrain prints and native fauna that shelter in tree hollows. Best wishes for a very happy festive season and a wonderful 2022. Come and say hello at the New Year’s Day Community House Market in Port Fairy.
These are nine different images of etchings printed over monotypes or watercolour-enhanced etchings (#1 and #2). The Basalt Leek Orchid is a rare and endangered plant species found in damp and undisturbed pockets of the western volcanic plains. It is a small and well-hidden species, often overlooked due to it’s short flowering period.