I have been trying a bit more printmaking. Shambolically, since that’s the way I do things; and without a press because even if there were money for one, it wouldn’t fit in the house without throwing out someone’s bed.
So, armed with the white-hot technology of some sharp points, a roller and a wooden spoon, I made some linocut Christmas cards (I mentioned these before). They were crude and simple things but quite fun to do; and more to the point, I could do them inside and stay warm. Since then I have started a couple more, for birthday cards and the like.
Printing takes a different approach to painting, though: a lot more planning and front-end design, not to mention the dark arts of registration (aka lining stuff up straight) and getting used to the idea that the print will be the reverse of the plate. It’s not something I have been able to work with so far in a spontaneous way, and you could easily argue that better results could be achieved with a ten-minute burst of Photoshop, but it is a good way to build up a stock of inexpensive art for cards and postcards.
So far I have kept my fingers away from the sharp things, and a pot of block-printing medium means I can use the paints I already have, so I haven’t spent much on materials. If nothing else, it should keep me busy until the Spring comes, and I can go back outside to paint.