New A4 screen print added to my Folksy Shop - Happy Chicken, find it (and variations) here.
I used four screens to print this- the line and black spots were separate.
The brushy white background was achieved by modifying an exposed solid shape on the screen by brushing with screen emulsion to give texture, and then setting on the exposure unit. Will be available at my next print fair, Strange Magic 26 July Lewes Town Hall. (see previous post)
​Printed on Canford Card 300gsm.

I am taking part in a brand new event, Strange Magic Printmakers Fair -focussing on contemporary printmaking, book art and zines. You can find them on instagram @printmaking_fairs.
Town Hall , Lewes East Sussex. Saturday 26th July 11am-4pm free tickets available by registering here.

My next event is The Illustrators' Fair at Granary Square, King's Cross London N1C. Saturday 12 July 11am -5pm.
One of my all-time favourites, this is packed with 100+ illustrators and small press publishers. It is all under cover in the Granary Square building, and dogs are welcome!
I will have new tees, cards prints and all sorts!
Have a look @illustratorsfair instagram feed to see who else will be there.

Photo credit: @LucyYoungPhotos for @Leadenhall Market.

I will be at Leadenhall Market on Saturday 14 June 12-5pm. Gracechurch Street EC3V 1LT Nearest tube is Monument. 
​This is a lovely covered market full of different makers and designers. I will have a selection of my prints, t-shirts, cards, badges and stickers. Come and see! 

I went to art college in the Eighties - it was amazing, I loved it! I felt like I fit in, after being the odd one out at home and at school, and having at least one teacher shake his head at me patronisingly when I said I wanted to go to Art College.
I studied in various colleges, at O Level, A level, foundation, degree, masters. I learned a lot, various skills and processes and sometimes just little nuggets of information, sometimes tiny things that made a big difference.

Some of those  skills and  processes might seem outdated now - this was pre computer days, can you imagine? But the skills stayed with me. I studied textile design at Trent. I learned how to put a design into repeat (without Photoshop! ) how to wind a warp, and thread a loom (oh my god it takes ages) I learned how not to kill myself using an industrial sewing machine - they were slowed-down ones but still...The little knee pedal for swinging the needle for free embroidery required a bit of dexterity (if you can have dexterity with knees....) And knitting machines...hmmm, just not for me.
Then screen printing - this was before digital printing, before you could reproduce anything as many colours as you want. In those days we spent a long time painting and drawing, using various methods/techniques, (bliss!) Then came developing the artwork into  a design and working out a repeat. Then you had to find ways to reproduce the textures  of the original paintings onto Kodatrace - like very thick tracing paper. I remember a lot of use of masking fluid, and wax resist - reproducing watercolour effects was unheard of - it's a cinch today, with digital printing.Then you put the Kodatrace on to a screen with light sensitive emulsion on it, and develop it. And then you had to pin fabric, mix dyes, print, unpin fabric, steam it to fix the print.
All these technical skills took a long time to master, and I probably couldn't do some of them now, but some of the things I learned still inform what I do these days. I'm not a textile printer, but I still design textiles or repeat patterns anyway. I make illustrations using the painting and drawing skills I developed over the years in all those different places - Perspective? Thanks Loughborough College of Art, you nailed it! I can still draw something that looks 'right', I know the principles, and I can choose to ignore them if I want.


I thought I'd write down the things that have stayed with me, and ask you to share yours with me.
Of course not everyone goes to art college, and it isn't always a teacher that says something that works for you.
Some of the best comments have been from art directors, or other people looking at my work- some didn't even realise they were teaching me something,  they were just observations.
 

So in no particular order -and I reserve the right to come back and edit/rearrange this:

1. Do not use grey as a mount for coloured artwork- any ex art students remember Crits? (Critiques) terrifying sometimes, especially in the early days...you do some work, pin it to the wall and then the whole class gather round while the tutors discuss it. Anyway one of my very first crits I had carefully mounted my fabric samples on a very delicate  grey mount board  (I even remember the name of the colour - dove grey) and the first thing the tutor said was  Never Use Grey, it drains the colour from everything...and I never have since. And I hate grey now (apart from Payne's Grey watercolour which I love but that is really blue....


2. Do not simply reproduce the design that you see in your mind, be open to seeing what happens in the process
It can be frustrating when the image in my head doesn't appear on the paper, as if by magic - but sometimes, hopefully often, something else happens, that I hadn't expected, or even thought about.
I think this is why I love the unpredictability of using real paint techniques, the paint acts differently every time, you can't control it too much, even a change in the weather has an effect.

3.Don't clean things up too much. 
This one actually was an art director, who was looking at my portfolio and said "Oh, you leave the mistakes in...." insert laughing crying emoji here!
Well I hadn't realised that I did, but when I looked at it later, I realised that that actually did give it a bit of an edge - you can go over an artwork too much and clean it up but it becomes a bit lifeless, and the odd bit of 'reality' doesn't do it any harm.  I like to use real paint and art materials, so sometimes there might be a bit of a smudge or a pencil line showing through a colour. Sometimes a colour might bleed into another, and I like that.

​What's your favourite artwork tip? Read more on my gouache tips here 

This Saturday, 24 May 2025,  I will be taking part in Ink Paper & Print at Lewes Town Hall. There will be 40 + stalls of all different types of print making.
​Open 10.30am - 4.30pm.
£2 on the door, or register at Eventbrite for free ticket here.
Poster artwork by James Brown of @pressedandfolded.
​See @inkpaperandprint for lineup.

I will be taking part in East Side Print CIC open studio, weekends 11am-5pm on 10/11 May, and 24/25 May. There will be screen prints from lots of studio members.

My latest screen printed cards. I always take a selection of my latest cards to markets and print fairs, including some that don't make it to listings in my shop. There are variations and one offs so you will be buying something that is absolutely original, made by hand, by me.
Click on the image to find the ones in my shop, see previous post for where I am selling in person this year.

I will be trading at various Makers Markets this year, in London and the South East (and maybe further afield.) Here are the ones I have booked so far.
🍅Saturday April 26 -SoLo Craft Fair Leadenhall Market London 12-5pm @solocraftfair
🍅10/11 May 24/25 May 11am-5pm Brighton Festival Open Houses East Side Print venue 5 Kemptown Trail
🍅Saturday 24 May Ink Paper & Print 10.30am -4.30pm Town Hall Lewes @inkpaperandprint free tickets available via Eventbrite
🍅Saturday 14 June Leadenhall Market London 12-5pm-SoLo Craft Fair @solocraftfair
🍅Saturday 12 July Illustrators' Fair 11am-5pm Granary Square Kings Cross London @illustratorsfair
🍅Saturday 26 July Strange Magic Print Fair 11am -4pm Town Hall Lewes @printmaking_fairs free pre reg tickets on Eventbrite.
🍅Sunday 3 August Between The Bridges London- SoLo Craft Fair @solocraftfair
I will have a selection of my printed goods at each but please get in touch if you would like me to bring something specific. Otherwise you can shop from my Folksy Shop here.