THE MOURNING PRESS

We are both pleased to announce that we will be holding our first exhibition together at the beginning of September. Organised along with the excellent printmaker Tamar Hopkins, and including the exciting work of  Hannah Devereux, Rowan Meacock and Willow Mitchell, Memento Mori: Studies in Print will focus on the conceptual and visual importance of death and regeneration in art.

The private view will be held on Saturday 4th September at The Islington Arts Factory in North London and the show will run until Friday 10th September. Thank you to our sponsors Casillero del Diablo, whose excellent wine will be served throughout the show. They too have a dark side and to find out more you can click on the logo below and visit their website.

All the information for the event is on the above invitation, but do feel free to email us if you have any questions. We hope to see you all there.

Faye and David

This is the third print that I now have ready for the exhibition. After going back to the studio with some new tools, the whole process was a lot quicker and there were less problems. I initially planned to print ten, but as I was left with ink on the screen, I decided to make 5 more. I will be going to get all the frames and mountboard next week and I am really excited about finishing them all off. Pictures of the framingwill be posted  soon. As with all other work in the show, The Burial was printed on Fabriano Rosaspina Bianco 285gsm. It is beautiful paper for screenprinting and excellent to work with.

I finished this addition of Brothers Blind on Saturday and thankfully it went without a problem. The batch of ink I used was very thick and had to be spread on the screen as it was too sticky to pour. This is my favourite way to print because it seems to avoid a lot of problems which I associate with the thinner inks. I was also lucky on Thursday as I rushed through a downpour carrying a hundred sheets of paper. Some time since last year Fabriano seem to have started sealing their paper in plastic.

This one was printed in an edition of 20 with 1 artists proof and 2 gifted. I will be showing it at the exhibition in September.

David

After a very problematic few days in the studio, I was finally able to print the edition of The Incomprehensible. I switched to a different type of photo emulsion so my exposure times had to be adjusted. I printed in a run of 9 with one Artists Proof on Fabriano Rosaspina Bianco 285gsm paper. The PP will be framed and used in our September exhibition. The first few prints were pulled on a different coloured paper to distinguish them from the edition. The Incomprehensible is now available to buy in our online store.

David

This is my latest drawing, which I have been working on for a while now. After a few little corrections it will be ready for print. I have decided to restrict my use of colours even more, and this one will be printed on off white paper using black ink, with areas picked out in white. I have just started working on a new drawing to go in a series with this one and there will be more to come soon.

David

This one is another little experiment with aquatint. The skeleton in the background was initially a mistake which ended up steering the work in a new direction. We have now started a print studio at home and are getting to grips with using copper sulphate/salt as a mordant. Our first prints will be posted soon.

Faye

The Burial is now inked and ready to be printed. I hand painted the halo on the original drawing with metallic ink although this will be printed in gold on the final piece. The hatching in the background took a lot of time, as did the ornamentation on the sarcophagus, but with it being done now I hope to get printing at the end of next month. It should also be available in our store in the near future.

David

Wilf Hanson at F.A.K.E Illustration has been nice enough to post our work on his site. F.A.K.E is an Illustration blog for anyone that has an interest in Illustration, digital design, commercial art or anything else creative. It’s got some really nice work on there from a diverse group of artists. Hopefully we will be involved more with this project in the future. Until then, click the link below to see what’s happening.

David

http://www.fakeillustration.blogspot.com/

Girl on Floor was another print focussing on the use of aquatint. It was drawn and printed at around the same time as Sisters and one other similar piece. These prints were very much the start of a new direction in my work.

Faye

These are some shots of the finished pencil artwork for ‘The Burial’. I looked closely at works from the early Renaissance after I had decided to experiment with central perspective. The framework for the whole piece caused some stress! There was lots of erasing and redrawing but it came together. I’m undecided as to whether this one will be etched or screenprinted, but i’ll get to that after it’s been inked. Many thanks to Tato for his help as a model.

David