New Books

I have recently completed a new order of books for the Winterbourne shop. All case bound with hand lino printed bookcloth covers, using the lovely old Albion Press at Birmingham Printmakers.

John in New York

This is the last of the series and shows John on a business trip to New York in 1890. He is hurrying to post a letter to Margaret. It reveals a love lorn young man waiting for a reply to his marriage proposal. Margaret, like any well bred young lady at the time, was making him wait.

I have changed the image from my original idea, where I had John sitting at a desk writing, as it would have made the composition entirely different from any of the others. I have used several archive street scenes from 1890's New York. The figure is taken from production stills from 'Ripper Street' and 'Parades End', as well as a portrait of John himself.

The border design is based on a rose that grows in Winterbourne and is inspired by the pressed rose from John that was in one of Margaret's diaries.

Margaret and the Nut Walk

Lino number 7 is now complete and I have just done the first proof at Birmingham Printmakers.

It shows Margaret standing in the nut walk looking back towards the house. The hazelnut arch is one of the original features of the garden that was planted by Margaret. She was strongly influenced by the garden designer Gertrude Jekyll and her garden at Munstead Wood.

The hazelnut motif has also been used for the border design (although it is unusual to see any nuts on the Winterbourne nut walk due to the way it is pruned).

Margaret's pose and clothes have been inspired by two contemporary photographs.

First Proofs of Winterbourne Lino

Having just completed lino number 6 in the series, I decided to proof it at Birmingham Printmakers to try out the etching press and a few different papers. I tried out a 100g Zerkall, a 160g Velin Arches and a 220g Fabriano Rosapina Bianco. The latter was the most successful.

This print will serve as the first 'introductory' print to the series and as such doesn't feature any figures. It is an homage to the well known woodcut of Kelmscott Manor from the 1892 Kelmscott Press edition of 'News from Nowhere' by William Morris.

Christmas Card Workshops at Winterbourne

I ran two linocut workshops at Winterbourne just before Christmas, based on a small collection of William De Morgan tiles kept at the house.

New Winterbourne lino

Inspired directly by the famous Kelmscot Manor image, I am now about to start cutting the next lino in the Winterbourne series. this one will serve as an introduction to the story. The honeysuckle border design is taken directly from the plasterwork on the hall ceiling.The flower was a symbol of happiness and protection for the home.

Nettlefold Courts print - first proof

I finally got to the stage I could proof the print.