Print Workshop. By Christine Schmidt

HAND-PRINTING TECHNIQUES + TRULY ORIGINAL PROJECTS

I go to the bookshop Magma in manchester every month or so and i have seen this book several times and been interested. I eventually purchased it this week. I thought the book would be useful as I love usig prints in my work and would like to try some different techniques and try some new styles. Most of the print techniques used in the book could be done by most as they use objects such as potatoes and mono prints using ink on assotate and drawing. However, to try some of the methods I'm interested in I would have to buy several items like, a contact printer, a solar plate etc. which might be something i will look into. It also show how to do homemade screen prints using a silk screen and other basic items which is something i would like to try. The book also shows ways of printing simple repeat prints using things such as string, rubbers and corks etc. Overall i think the book was a great buy and I look forward to using some new print techniques.

James and the Giant Peach. Finished.

bits from my sketchbook.

James and the Giant Peach. book cover 2.

Not too sure about it. What do you think?

Belinda Chen

All of Belinda's illustrations a quite different from each other. She seems to use a variation of media to complete her work, from detailed pencil drawings to photo collages and paint. I love her use of texture and colour. 

This piece isn't a favourite for me but there is no doubt she is a talented artist. I think this kind of drawing works well with other medias as well, it makes them more interesting. The image below looks better just by adding colour and a bit more of a background. 

My favourite illustrations by Belinda are the ones with lots of texture and using collage. I think she uses colour really well, always sticking with a theme and setting the mood or atmosphere. Belinda cleverly mixes detailed pencil drawings and painting with textures and photographs to produce really effective pieces of work.

I find her work varies to suit briefs, she doesn't seem to stick to a specific style. I love how she keeps the background simple but not flat to draw your attention to the main image, she keeps the texture in the background to make the image a whole. She tends to use more of a pastel palette instead of bright colours, and she uses one colour and differs the tone maybe using one or two other complementing colours.