This Ink: schminke college linol, waterbased.

1.   Drawing on paper on ink

Mark two borders on perspex  - one for ink and one outside this for paper.
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Roll out ink on tray  - keep it no larger than width of roller.

Roll ink onto perspex within your border - just going on the tape. 



​Place paper carefully on this, being careful not to press on it. 

Draw with pencil on the paper.







Lift up paper to reveal print of your drawing. It will be in reverse.

Leave to dry then tray adding some colour with watercolour paint, quickly and with a light hand.
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​2. Making marks in ink then printing 

Roll out the ink onto the perspex surface then try different tools to scrap away the ink, making varied marks. 

Carefully place the paper on top and, using your hand to rub down, print this. 

This one has been coloured later with the contrasting yellow.


3.Transfer Technique. 

Roll out ink on the tray.

Roll ink onto paper. 

Place paper on the cartridge paper, ink side down.




Make your marks on top of this. They will transfer to the base paper. 

This is really good for letters and words as they are printed the right way up. 

Paul Klee used this technique. He used oil paint so that he could paint washes of colour on top without effecting the lines. 






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​4. Paint image on surface and print

On your printing surface (perspex), mark out the area you want to print with a masking tape border.

Use the printing ink as paint with a brush and draw straight onto your clean surface. 

Place your paper on top and print, using rubbing carefully with your hand.

Take a second print and see what happens.

You can leave these to dry then add colour on your printed image. 
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Try making another print using more colours. 

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​These are prints made in the same way but using water paint on gelli plates.








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Visited Myddelton House Gardens today in preparation for our trip there later in March. 

Designed and planted by the then owner E A Bowles, who became a celebrated botanist, plant collector, gardener and writer. 

I really liked it - lots of variety and odd collections of slightly random architectural features, statues etc. and some quite architectural plants. Not an enormous place so perfect for looking at details - emerging buds on plants that still have seed heads, textures and colours on bark of the 450 year old yew trees, shapes and patterns of succulents and tropical plants in the greenhouses. Lots of bulbs out of course and rhodedenrons on their way. Swathes of daffodils and snowdrops and white fritilleries; masses of hellebores of various subtle hues. There will be plenty more flowers and colour by the end of the month. 

Hoping that some of the group will draw some of the shapes, colours and textures, as well as photographing details. Encourage them to look at patterns on leaves, rhythms of plants...

quite a lot of fruit trees trained on south facing walls which could be our inspiration for the tree in the corridor - as if it is trained on the walls there.

The  'Bowles Museum'  - small room, time line with images going all round, not currently any original Bowles illustrations. Maybe they are all in RHS collections. some images from the internet of crocus studies. He was particularly interested in them and cultivated many new varieties.