My Spring Feet lino print featured as one of the elements in my recent Happy To Be Here Exhibition graphics:
“Happy to Be Here” is showing itself to be a phrase containing much appreciation, and a sense of place. Funny how our feet in images are evidence of being here … This idea seems to continue to come up even now my exhibition is closed!
So, how did Spring Feet – the lino print – start?
Feel the warm air on your skin, and take off your shoes. It’s early Spring so find a thick blanket to sit on as the ground’s too cool otherwise. Paint your newly de-socked toe nails in every colour of polish you have – or simply purple – and admire your fading henna…
I toyed with not showing you this picture, ‘cos the henna is fading and it all doesn’t quite look the same. But then I got brave and decided to keep it ‘in’ to illustrate how the lino print first came into being! #vulnerable #workinprogress
Making the Lino Print
For this one, I drew straight onto the lino block with my marker. Here’s the block with the carving started. The carved areas have a nice texture, don’t they?
Art meets self care?
This lino print is a simple reminder for both self care and art practice. (I may write a book about that one day – stay tuned!) The art + self care layers: henna flower on my foot, a lino print self portrait (tell your story!) and the rainbow toe nail polish.
Here’s the initial lino block, fully carved … for the time being. Hadn’t yet decided whether to keep the background fully printed, or to carve it out.
In the first print, I kept the background blocked in with ink. See the flip? The image gets reversed when printed.
Finally I carved out the background areas that are now the pale grey ground and the deep green nasturtium shadows. Do you like the rainbow nail polish?
After I finish a lino print or painting, I scan it into my computer. My scanner is a bit smaller than most of my art, so I then need to match up the four areas of the scans into a complete picture! Here’s that process in progress:
This is a Limited Edition Lino Print, but the 5 prints in this edition are handpainted and unique. If you love owning and/or gifting bold art pieces that only 4 other people on the entire planet will have, these are for you.
Feet. Feet. Feet.
I foresee many more feet pictures… I was already playing with them here in my Birthday Bold Art Project. If we’re lucky enough to have feet, they are always right there where we are!
There’s an instagram devoted to feet on floors called, “I have this thing with floors”.
Here’s a link to the fabulous Vivienne McMaster and her “why foot selfies” article – self care, photography and art all enrichen each other so much.
Have a wonderful week, I’ll keep this Work In Progress series coming! By the way, I’ve had further suggestions from Leela, so that discussion will develop too!
Talk soon,
Love Meg x o
PS Spring Feet is a short run lino print, and I have just 3 left… Want one for your happy home? Click this to order unframed in my gallery shop.
PS 2 To see some other artists’ lino prints that inspire me, click this to check out my pinterest lino print board.
PS 3 South Aussies: I’ve three markets left before Christmas! Hope to see you there :) Contact me if you want me to bring anything in for you.
PS 4 Have you watched our group video? Check out the Happy To Be Here Project below … More feet :D