Cutting Lino - First Attempts

I had the absolute pleasure & privilege of attending a Linocut workshop, run by members of the SWLA & held in the Learning Centre at The Mall Galleries. It took place on the penultimate day of the Natural Eye exhibition, was organised by Darren Rees & run by Max Angus & Robert Greenhalf.

When this course was announced, it seemed perfect; two printmakers whose work I had long admired, running a course into a type of printmaking I could do at home, without needing to use a press.

It was a small group of us taking part, which was perfect for the space. I love courses such as these, you get to meet & talk to fellow artists, which is something I don’t get to do much these days. My artist friends pretty much all live and work in Kent & I don’t get to see or speak to them anywhere near as much as I’d like to.

Shared experiences are really important to me, whether it’s taking part in a course, visiting an art exhibition with friends, or even just discussing what each of us is up to or being inspired by. I feel re-energised after these shared experiences and they are even more necessary when my artistic mojo goes a wandering.

Our session began with looking at and admiring how other wildlife artists had used this technique; it’s incredible how varied the end results can be. Each of us on the course had come armed with a suitable sketch to use & with advice from our tutors we all set to work on our creations.

Our end results were diverse and very much our own. Each had their own individual style and interpretation & it was really interesting to see how each of us had translated our sketches into a linocut print.

I think artists are a friendly bunch on the whole & this group were no exception. I even just about felt comfortable enough to not die a death when they asked to look through my sketchbook. It’s always lovely to see other people’s sketches and field studies; it just gets a little uncomfortable when it’s my sketches that they are looking at! I really had such a lovely day and learned so much.

Both Max & Robert were lovely, helpful and so encouraging. I have to admit to being a little awe struck at meeting Robert Greenhalf. His paintings and field sketches are incredibly beautiful & I have liked his work for some time. To meet him in person as well as to be taught by him was a real privilege. It was rather akin to how I felt by being tutored by professor Nick Davies (Behavioural Ecologist) at University, another genuinely lovely person. Sometimes it is good to meet your heroes.

So, how good was this shared experience? Well, it has left me excited & inspired, so much so that I’ve ordered my first lot of lino!