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I published this a while ago, around about the time of the European elections. Much to my surprise it was read (in as far as I could decipher the experimental punctuation) by a BNP person, who was kind enough to comment upon it. A timely reminder to me to post again and say to not fall for these people – they do not deserve your vote.
We’ve been trying to invent a new logo for the cycle forum. It’s been painful but at least it gave me a pattern to play with when I wanted to try some easy cut lino.
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I have reverted to 10 years old and made a print of a Lancaster bomber teaching the krauts a lesson. Or not actually. I think it’s actually being taught rather a difficult lesson. Being caught in a searchlight was a terrifying and often terminal experience for many young men in the 1940s. Aircrew in RAF bomber command had the worst survival prospects of any allied service in world war 2 – statistically death or capture was a certainty, with a one in 20 chance of being downed on a mission and 30 missions in a tour of duty. Survival was exceptional.
The fact that their heroic deeds were often of marginal military value and terrible moral value adds an awful pathos to their heroism. This picture is dedicated to their heroism in war and (for the survivors) herosim in living with the brickbats ever since.
Another good day at Omega Printmakers today. We are preparing for the November exhibition. I made yet more bikes. In fact this picture is the story of my life in bikes – my Autobikography.
The exhibition is at Portsmouth Central Library – more look on the Omega site for more info.
Firstly, let me say that I think that the 10:10 campaign to try to reduce the carbon we put into the atmosphere by 10% by 2010 is extremely laudable. I have even signed up to it.
However (there had to be one), a few weeks ago there was a centre spread in the guardian (other limp liberals may have seen it too) of lots of people holding up pink cards with their 10:10 pledges on. The pledges were things like “To smoke only 10 cigarettes a day” and “to waste less food” or “grow veg on the balcony”. This got me thinking. All these things were good, in as far as they went, but are things like that really enough to make the difference needed to keep planet earth habitable to humans?
Then I started to think about the sort of pledges that people could make that really would make a difference, the sort of thing that an individual could do that would really cut their emissions but might be a little uncomfortable (like dying) and started to play with images of them. There are only two so far, but here they are.
We have a shop on cafepress. You can buy exclusive* printsink merchandise. It will set you apart as a person of taste and distinction. Seperate yourself from the herd by buying our crap.
http://www.cafepress.co.uk/printsink/
* Anyone who doesn’t buy is excluded.
Career Break - Low Res Scan
I have printed up an edition of 15 prints of ‘Career Break’, and they are for sale at £15 each. A nice fun linocut print for a bargain price, what could be better. They are printed on Somerset White Satin paper and are unmounted.
We spent the day printing at Omega Printmakers in Portsmouth today. It’s a really nice studio with a fantastic Albion Press for relief printing, which is what I was doing.
I spent my time playing with Linocuts of bikes and riders, based on the course of life images I worked out a while back. I started the Lino cutting a few weeks ago at the Badger press and carried on today, printing a series of 15 prints of ‘Career Break’ which I hope to exhibit soon at the Omega Printmakers exhibition. I also developed some linos of me on some other of my lovely bikes.
Here are some photos of the images.
http://www.printsink.co.uk/blog/2009/09/08/printmaking-at-omega/
Recently I have mainly been working on making a website for Omega Printmakers in Portsmouth. It is, in my humble view, quite marvellous.
It is at www.omegaprintmakers.co.uk.
