My art is directly influenced by the sights I see every day. I'm lucky enough to live in a stunningly beautiful place (Perthshire, Scotland). Every day, I go walking with Max the Patterdale Terrier, and the plants and animals we see often end up as the subjects for my linocuts and other prints. Autumn has to be one of my favourite times of year with its rich colours, abundant crops and pink sunsets.
The subjects of my linocuts relate to the rhythm of the seasons, and there are particular sights you can see during Autumn. During Autumn, as the days shorten, you often see Pipistrelle bats swooping around in the evening catching insects, building up their fat reserves ready for hibernation. Red squirrels can be seen gathering nuts to see them through winter. Grey seals have their pups during Autumn, and their adorable fluffy white infants can be seen on beaches across Scotland.
Gathering leaves and taking prints of them is a fun method, and something which children can get involved in. A piece of perspex is inked up in a thin layer of ink in a neutral colour such as grey, and leaves placed over this. A piece of lightly dampened paper is laid over this and a print taken. The print is washed over with brightly coloured inks and then flattened between boards. This technique produces a beautiful effect as you can see below. If you have particular artistic or craft activities during Autumn, I would love to hear about them!
