Wowee!
I'd wanted to go and explore this place for a while and when I did my breath was taken away. I'm afraid the steps have eroded and I didn't attempt to get down onto the beach (this time)
The view laid out before me was outstanding, the presence of those great rocks standing patiently waiting against the inevitable slow destruction of the sea.
I knew I wanted to attempt in my own way to put it down on paper.
Starting with a few on the spot sketch book scribbles and lots of photos.
Next a plan, for the composition. My photo seemed very flat and I wanted to get more distance and a feeling of space. I used old brown paper because that's all I had big enough but I love the results. ( Note to self must try it again)
and then to spend the next couple of months working with the scene the wrong way round.
Here it is transferred to lino with ink and a brush to try and keep some freedom of the drawing in the cutting. The white waves are marked on as the first to cut out. Remember what I cut out is what I keep on the paper as I print each colour.
lots of squiggly sea foam cuts on the lino below.
The first base colours of sand and sea down on paper. I played with the sky too so you'll notice in the images that the sky is different.
next I cut away those lovely big areas of the beach that I wanted to keep. No people and no footprints.
I printed a pale blue to capture the shallow waves.
And I played with the sky, this one I sprayed with water.
Here's the colours ready to print on the lino.
and it turned out like this
Next I cut more beach away
and printed a brown, the beginning of the wet sand reflections where the tide laps the shore.
I tried a new way of doing the sky by cutting lines for clouds. I thought it fitted with all the other drawing elements in this piece.
Then I finished the sea, by cutting away all the bits I wanted to keep and printing a dark blue.
I'm loving how the sea came out.
Next I went with the headland in the background, pushing it into the distance. I wanted to separate the rocks on the beach to give a feeling of space and distance. I didn't want it like my photos where they seemed merged into each other.
Green for the background and grey for the rocks on the lino.
Ohhh the mixing of colours, to me it's as important as the cutting.
I've put on 3 colours here at the same time, that little roller above, is for the colour of the shadow on the sand which I think it slightly different to the colour of the rocks.
Then I started on the detail of those background cliffs.
printed below, and some brown on the highlights of the rocks.
I work by continuously looking at my photograph and drawing, then cutting the shapes I see.
Rock details drawn
and cut
and printed.
A bit of dark green across the tops where grass was growing and a darker grey on the nearer rocks.
All that's left on the lino below, is the black of the closest rocks and the grass at the front.
I hope now my rocks recede back along the beach creating them as individual giants standing quietly on the sand.
Another layer of cutting and printing grass and it's finished.
The printed image is 41 x 58cm
Edition size 14 ( they're all slightly different)
Printed on Somerset Satin White 250gsm paper size 57 x 76cm
I've put a couple up for sale here xx
for now here's a video of my inspiration over on my instagram.