Here are the first working proofs from some small etchings that I have been pursuing since the lichen drawings... looking a little like lichen, or perhaps any micro-organisms, in colonies of moss, mould, algae...
Even after all the photographs of lichens (I must have taken two hundred or more) and then the pen drawings, I begun these etchings with no visual references in front of me (and no plan to illustrate a species), prefering to see what initial textures and tones I could create, working from memory... I like the discipline of a slow, considered, meticulous process - etching seems the perfect medium in which to combine delicate line with texture... here are two of the initial trial proofs... printed in a warm black... I need to rework them in more detail later in the week and experiment with colour...
...It's curious to think that many years ago I used to pore over books such as this one on earth as seen from space (published in 1981), as a source of inspiration... these satellite images of the Himalyas were taken in March 1977 and December 1978 by Landsat spacecraft...
and am inspired by these old textbooks too...
[pages showing section of the ileum or small intestine]
[page on lichens, showing a cross section]The only issue with printmaking is the evidential traces of concentrated work - that is, printmakers hands...
[self portrait with hands]