BLAST 2a - A card for next year

 Well. if anybody likes them. The "lanterns" are from a poster I had a go at doing for the Alex, maybe 3 yeats ago. I quite like it as a background for the performers. The mask got a bit mangled cus the older blocks are a bit thicker than I thought. Anyway, if I manage to sell the nine I've just done I'll remake the mask. Next I'll have a go with the trumpeter and piano player. And take a bit more care with the mask

BLAST 2 Another Christmas Card

 Here's the second. Finished printing this one. Rather like the Spit brothers, sometimes I like this one best, and sometimes the other. I've also got some scribblings of a sax player and a Conga player. So who knows? I may end up with another.

BLAST 1 - A Christmas card

 I felt I needed to do some cards and thought my Inktober drawings would be a good place to start. I ennded up doing 2 designs from the BLAST drawing and then decidinng to make them Christmasy by adding the tree. I think I may make sone different backgrounds later to make them more year-round.

There will be a second following shortly featuring the Bass man accompanying a singer, 

Inktober 2025

 I wasn't feeling it so much this year but I stuck with it to the end. Glad I did. It's always worth drawing even if you don't want to.

Paradise Lost

 This print is another that started from some of the life drawings I did in August. I decided to combine two separate drawings - together they seemed to give a vibe of alertness, if not alarm. And a naked man and a naked woman imply Adam and Eve, so I needed to include fruit. I did consider the serpent but you can just presume he's scarpered. And something blowing in at the window that has captured their attention.

The still life dates from the time of Lockdown - a course I'd signed up for ended up on Zoom, so we ended up doing still lifes off a screen.  Far from ideal but at least I have suitable drawings in my collection. And the window I pinched from Matisse. Cuz he's a great painter of open windows. 

Four colours meant a lot of cutting, especially as the print area is around A3. I think it was worth it, but having just finished, all the flaws are waving at me right now. 

Luke 23:34

 I had the idea of doing a crucifixion earlier this year, but the drawings weren't working so I put it aside.

But now, but now. 

As I mentioned in the last post, I worked through the initial shock and grief of Charlie's assassination. Worked through it not only in the hours spent cutting some recalcitrant blocks, but also absorbing myself in all the chores that I could find. Having done that, I felt I was in a place to try this again. And it has come out okay. Some bits are better than others, but there's plenty in it to make the effort worthwhile.

I think its worth tackling a biblical subject. It's a kind of test. It asks the question, "Is the Age of Postmodern Irony over?" I certainly think it's weakened. We might see some major art coming up, sneaking in at the edges, that actually means it. 

Girl with Cat (I think)

 Haven't finally decided title yest, but simple seems best. 

This one started out as one of last month's life drawings, but I felt she needed something extra. Hence the cat. A focus for her attention. The two colour blocks are wood. As usual rubbish from the shed. It was hard and splintery, so my hands are suffering for it now. But I've needed the pain over the past few days. And the single-minded focus to help me process the tragic deatth of Charlie Kirk. The print may seem a bit anodyne, but all my grief for Charlie is in it.