This year's Christmas cards

This year's Christmas cards: made with handmade papers and left over fabric.  The light handmade paper was made from recycled etching offcuts and a telephone directory! 

nieuwe aquarellen van vogeltjes (new watercolours of birds)

These are the latest additions to my etsy shop. A series of bird watercolours.  A Great Tit, a Robin, 2 Sparrows and a Black Bird.  All measure 13 x 18 cm.

nieuw ets van een veertje (new etching of a feather)

The ink is still wet! I printed the first etchings of this feather...a spotted pheasant feather...using a warm sepia ink.  I love the warmth that this colour gives to the plate tone.  The copper plate measures 6 x 9 cm.

nieuw schilderij van Francesco: Wolkenlucht (Francesco's latest painting)

Francesco's latest painting of a coastal scene as the sun is setting.  Oil on canvas (100 x 40 cm).

workshop bloemen vilten (making felt flowers)

Monday I did a workshop making felt flowers with Liesbeth Romeijn in a tipi near Sint Annaland in Tholen.  I love tipi's (actually it's a Suomi dwelling) and I love felting... so I couldn't wait!  This is the flower I made:

I haven't decided yet whether to use it as decoration, or as a corsage, but it was a lot of fun to make.  The next adventure was the 'sushi' felting.  I made a roll of red and white wool and rolled and rolled and rolled and rolled.  Eventually I had a felt sausage that I could cut into pieces when it dried.  I think they look a bit like sweets! The other cool thing about the workshop was the fellow felters.  I met another etsy member!! Simone from Moon d-sign.  So looks like there'll be more workshops to attend!

Nieuw olieverf schilderij: Wolken lucht (New painting)

Francesco's latest atmospheric painting.  A sea and beach panoramic scene painted in oil on canvas (100 x 40 cm).

Vogels en veertjes: nieuwste etsen van vandaag (Today's newest etchings)

Wet off the press (literally!) today's newest etchings: a feather and a bird in a tree.  Both measure 6 x 9 cm and were engraved onto a copper plate.

nieuw etsen van deelnemers van cursus etsen (new etchings from this week's etching course)

These are the latest etchings from the new etching course.  The first etchings!  All have been made on a copper plate and measure 10 x 15 cm.  Always exciting to see the first etching printed off!

These are etchings made by the etchers on our classes with more experience.  The dove on the far left had been treated with an aquatint to produce the contrasting background.  Aquatint produces a kind of raster on the plate.  Ressin from the pine tree in powder form is dusted onto a maticulously cleaned copper plate (in this case that has already been etched and placed in the acid bath).  The plate is then heated and the powder layer melts onto the plate.  With the dove etching, the bird was covered up using a spirit varnish so that it remains 'white', ie without a raster.  The plate is then placed in the iron chloride bath -  in this case for 30 mins to produce a deep raster.  It is then cleaned and prepared for printing.

The blue and brown artworks top and bottom were engraved using the dry needle technique on perspex, and the brambles on the right were etched on copper and placed in an iron chloride bath.