It is also the printing groups award year this year and I entered a woodblock and lino reduction print. The image was taken from my own photograph of three ducks at Tamworth Gardens. It's not a large print and unframed is 28.5x21cm. The background(woodblock) which in the photo was the stand of trees they were resting under. When I pulled the print it looked more like water to me so decided to leave it alone and moved onto the ducks. I rearranged the centre duck to view it's head and to capture it's attitude better. The marking on the centre duck has been changed as well for artistic purposes but the two with the dark collars are genuine markings. These two were influenced by a family visiting our back lane about mid year and the colours are a deep emerald green turning nearly black in the shade against the white body. The positioning of the ducks is original apart from slightly moving the middle one and it was the perfect oppturnity to show the collar shape of the other two.
The foreground was handpainted with oilpaints, scratching and some drawing to enhance the grass.
I then cutaway the foreground and concentrated on the ducks using oil based inks and reduction method, handpulled on Fabriano watercolour 130gms paper.
"Duck Friends" 2012
The New Year will be exciting for me as I will be cruising to New Zealand with my sister for her 70th birthday. It is ladies only, hubbies keeping the homefires burning so to speak.
My very first cuise and visit to New Zealand for two weeks with a few days in Brisbane with another two sisters , unable to make it on the return home. My camera will forever be ready to capture our wonderful experience and hopefully some nice prints in the future.
