I’m working on a couple of linocuts at the moment.
One is a large linocut of the Tower of London (pictured above in an early draft). I started this before Christmas with a view to also using it in a design I have in mind.
The other is a small linocut of one of the fishing boats here on the beach at Hastings. It is taken from a sketch I made down on the beach at Rock-a-Nore last Friday morning. I wanted a linocut design small enough to print on my new Hawthorn Press. I love this press, but it accommodates paper up to around 25cm width – so I need carved lino blocks no wider than A4 (20-21cm).
Here’s a photo of that sunny morning amongst the fishing fleet.
Hastings has the largest beach-launched fishing fleet in with Europe or Britain (depending on which article you read). Whilst most fishing fleets moor their boats in the harbour, our local fishermen winch their boats clear of the water partway up the beach. They are launched by a combination of rollers and a tractor.
Many fishermen are from ancient fishing families and their way of life and political allegiances are an important part of the atmosphere of the town. They were very pro-Brexit!
Here’s the sketch of one of the boats …
Let’s see how the two linocuts turn out …
In the meantime, check out my blog entry on working on my linocut of Herstmonceux Observatory.