Kitchen lithography

I should like to draw your attention to Émilie Aizier's method of kitchen lithography. The technique involves the use of non-toxic materials to be found in an ordinary kitchen.

Stone lithography printing allows unusual freedom of expression. Images can be drawn or painted and the range of marks possible is immense. I learned stone lithography at Morley College in London some years ago, but I have not been able to practise it since, because it requires several things I don't have, that is, sufficient space, a lithography stone, a litho press and a supply of nitric acid. Therefore I was very interested to learn of a method of lithography that uses such friendly materials as aluminium foil and cola.

Perhaps when time allows I'll have a go, meanwhile for those who are interested you can order the book (available in English, French or Spanish) from the author.

'A Mermaid in the Bath' available later this month

Cover image for 'A Mermaid in the Bath' by Milton Marmalade

The cover of Milton Marmalade's soon to be published novel 'A Mermaid in the Bath' is based on a lino print. I did some tinkering in Affinity Photo. (Affinity Photo does what Photoshop Elements does, but keeps working even when Apple upgrades its OS, and costs less than Photoshop Elements). 

Would you know what to do if a mermaid turned up in your bath?

'A Mermaid in the Bath' (previous title 'A Fishy Tale'), the humorous philosophical-spiritual novel by Milton Marmalade, will be available on e-readers and in print soon. To read it now completely free go to: http://www.wattpad.com/story/7410604-a-mermaid-in-the-bath-or-how-to-achieve-your

Here is my work on the cover. This version is not used on Wattpad because of Canadian sensibilities regarding nipples, where I have had to superimpose a scallop shell bra, which is totally against the principles of mermaids and of fairyland in general. 

First the pencil sketch, contrast-enhanced and with text added in photoshop:

I traced the design onto tracing paper and copied it in reverse onto a sheet of lino (see previous blog entries on lino printing for method). Since my printing press is in storage I had to use the back-of-a-spoon method for printing.

Exhibition "Views of Richmond" 7 February - end May 2015

Gate on the River Thames as seen from Buccleugh Gardens, Richmond-upon-Thames. Oil on canvas 12 x 10 inches (350 x 252mm) unframed size.


This painting has been accepted for the Richmond Views open exhibition which will run from 7 February through until the end of May 2015 at Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham.

Commissioned lino print as a wedding gift

The image size is 8x8 inches (200x200mm approximately). 

The brief was to design and make a lino print for the client to give as a wedding gift. The image was to have associations with Thailand - the honeymoon destination - and to incorporate the couple's names and the date of the wedding.

Altogether three prints were pulled: one for the couple and one each for the two sets of parents.

The image includes two fish meeting over a lotus flower - this is a Buddhist symbol.

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtamangala#Fish) the two goldfish represent fearless suspension in the ocean of things that happen (samsara). You can see that I have put in some ripples, which the client liked in my mermaid pictures. The fins make a heart shape. The male's tail fin rises protectively above the female's.

The lotus is a beautiful flower that rises up through the mud (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtamangala#Lotus). 

The knots symbolise love and eternity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtamangala#Knot).

Chocolatina and the Carob Cake

Read Milton Marmalade's complete story about a little girl called Chocolatina who doesn't stand any nonsense. A satire on New Age austerity.

A fishy tale - please share

I do not exist - 2

It has been pointed out that there is an obvious sense in which 'I' exist. For instance, one can say 'to prove I exist, here is my hand' and then hold up one's hand. While this is clearly the case, one must then ask what 'I' means in this context. It refers to the location from which the voice comes that says these words.

However when we use the word 'I' in other contexts we imply some kind of being that has thoughts, desires, relationships, possessions and some kind of continuity. Nevertheless the thoughts change from moment to moment, desires are fluid and influenced by mood and the whim of the moment, we can lose or gain possessions. We really feel the fluid nature of 'I' when a major relationship is ended or a new one begun.

The meaning of 'I' implying a location of the speaker at that moment in time (as in 'Here I am!") does not necessarily imply the existence of a continuous being, whose utterance of 'I' in the next moment is not necessarily the same 'I'.

What endures is only presence.

Welcome back!

Peace Angel (lino print)

More prints and paintings coming soon.

A girl's face - my first etching

Here's my first experiment with etching. This was done on a zinc plate in an introductory class, and so there is still work to be done on it. The darks are too dark in places, but I am told there are ways to fix this by burnishing back the over-etched areas.

The whole process is much more like drawing than I expected, with the additional benefit of being able to add textures. In this case the only instrument I used other than a coarse graphite pencil was my finger - you can see my fingerprints all over it.

I also learned that it may be possible to do this process at home by substituting citric acid for dilute nitric acid, which apart from being not altogether pleasant stuff also has to be purchased in industrial quantities. Someone on the course claimed that citric acid is the principle ingredient of kettle cleaner. I shall look into this.

Disclaimer: you copy anything I have done or suggest here entirely at your own risk.