Leisure Painter — June 2017

YOUR TIPS, SUGGESTIONS,

IDEAS AND QUESTIONS

Letters

Send your letters to

Leisure Painter, 63-65 High Street,

Tenterden, Kent TN30 6BD.

Alternatively, email the editor at

[email protected].

All letters published here win art

materials, courtesy of Daler-

Rowney. For details of all

Daler-Rowney products visit

http://www.daler-rowney.com

Inspired by print

I read Lisa Hooper’s recent article on

lino cutting and, like other readers, was

re-introduced to an art form I had last

tried at school. My main problem was

achieving a good even ink transfer from

lino block to paper. This proved to be

frustrating in the extreme when using

hand tools. Then I saw a demonstration

of a die cutting/ embossing tool, called

the Xcut Xpress Die-Cutting craft

machine, which cuts out shapes in such

surfaces as felt. It resembles a small

hand-operated wringer, which used to

be attached to ancient washing

machines and was used to squeeze

water from fabrics.

The big advantage of this machine is

that the top roller is adjustable vertically

so it will accept ‘sandwiches’ of lino

block and paper of varying thicknesses

up to A4 and, secondly, screwing the

top roller down increases the pressure

on the work. There is a scale reading on

the pressure knob so you can quickly

note which pressure reading suits you.

When set up, there is a flat work

surface on each side so you can operate

it from either side equally easily, which

also makes alignment of work simple

when using two or more colours. The

work can be squeezed backwards and

forwards several times between the

rollers, which ensures even application

of ink.

I usually apply ink to then block and

print off a proof copy and the re-ink the

block, which produces a nice quality

copy with good ink application and

depth of colour. The equipment is also

easy to clean. It costs £79 from The

Range and is available online. It is also

compact and folds away for easy storage.

Dennis Swainston

Cheating or a sensible tool?

I have been painting now for four years.

It’s a new adventure in retirement,

which I took up as a challenge to create

a watercolour by the end of ten free

two-hour tutorials. I was hooked, but

discovered you have to be able to draw

before you can paint. My computer

solved this issue for me and now all my

paintings start off as a photograph on

my PC. From resizing to manipulation

and removing most of the information,

I print out the image onto suitable

watercolour paper. This is then washed

to remove the print ink, which leaves

a faint outline. The wet paper is then

taped and allowed to dry before

painting commences.

Franco Barbieri (February's issue)

spoke of preparing photos to remove

detail. His letter cleared my conscience

and now I paint without shame.

In response to Marlene Griffin (May

issue), modern technology is here to

stay so embodying it is in your interest.

I have been enriched by these new

challenges and the ideas of others who

share their knowledge in Leisure Painter.

Art is the creation of a work of beauty

(in someone’s eyes), but let others

decide whether they see it or not.

Brian Mellett

Yoga for creativity

One of the challenges I often face when

I sit down to create something is that my

mind wanders all over the place. I can

think of 101 things that I ought to be

doing, rather than sitting still. Sound

familiar? Try these simple exercises that

I use with my yoga students.

1 Sit comfortably in the place where

you are going to be working. Take a

moment to make sure you are balanced

evenly on your sit bones, with your spine

alert – don’t lean onto the back of your

chair – and your feet flat on the floor.

Draw your shoulders away from your

ears, ease your jaw from side to side to

relax your face and close your eyes.

Think about your breathing, but don’t

try to control it. Just say to yourself: I

breathe in, I breathe out. Keeping your

mind here will help to block out

distractions and free up space for the

creative juices to flow. When you’re ready

to paint, open your eyes and off you go.

2 When inspiration fails to strike, stand

up and have a good shake all over then

plant your feet about hip-width apart,

with your tail tucked under your spine.

10 http://www.painters-online.co.uk

Clasp your hands together behind you

and squeeze your shoulderblades

together then encourage your arms to

lift away from your body. Carefully lift

your face and chest towards the sky

and breathe in deeply to open

yourself up to possibilities. Release

slowly, have another all-over shake

then pick up your brush.

Julia Thorley

juliathorley.blogspot.com

Advice please

I have a muscle wasting condition,

which is now starting to show in my

hands and arms. I can no longer paint

when I want, but have to wait for a

good day and my fingers are numb

holding a brush.

It would be nice to hear from

readers with similiar conditions and

find out how they have adapted and

coped with their physical problems.

Maisie Taylor

The simple Biro

I read with interest the letter from

John Austin in the April issue, who was

singing the praises of the humble Biro

as an excellent, versatile drawing

implement. Ten years ago I rode a

motorcycle overland to India and, as

I was travelling solo, I soon realised

that an excellent way to pass time in

the evening was to add to my travel

journal; not only the day’s stories, but

also to draw the scenes I’d witnessed.

The Biro was perfect for capturing

these and, being permanent, would

take a wash of watercolour too, which

brought the pictures alive.

After seven months on the road, I

returned to the UK with hundreds of

drawings and watercolour sketches,

and I was persuaded to put an

illustrated book together that started

with simple Biro sketches.

Simon Roberts

http://www.painting-in-france.com

JUNE 2017

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