Screen Printed Bear, now on sale.

'I think of you often' is now on my ETSY store. To view the listing and details go to http://www.etsy.com/shop/lenallwood or click the shop link on the right. 

Don't eat the pips. This first run of prints is limited to 5, you will receive a signed certificate with your print.

Don't eat the pips. 

Golden, Sparkling, Vinyl Screen Printed Bear of Dreams.

So Iv'e just finished screen printing this. I’m posting the progress of the screen printing technique I used. I usually screen print with the traditional method, exposing screens etc, but this time I used a vinyl cutter to make a stencil instead of exposing the image onto the screen. The reason I did this was mainly to test the level of detail I could achieve with the vinyl cutter, and if I simply could screen print that way.

I’m really pleased with the end result; I think the paper and the bear complement each other completely. 

I wanted to give the character a delicate look due to the material I was using, so I hope this comes across and please let me know what you think. 

First I sketched the image and scanned it in at 600dpi gray scale. I find this is better for pencil sketches. It didn't really matter for this but I thought I would mention it. 

Next  I drew it up using the pen tool in adobe illustrator. I had to do this because the vinyl cutter recognise paths made in illustrator. 

The vinyl cutter then cuts out the image. 

Parts of this image where extremely intricate such as the fur of the bear. Naturally these parts I had to take care with when cutting out so as not to tear the vinyl. 

I used a knife to remove the unwanted vinyl, leaving a negative of the line work that I would pull the ink through. 

To remove the whole vinyl sticker in one go I used a sheet of masking tape. I stuck this lightly onto the front of the vinyl. 

I then stuck the vinyl onto the front of the screen before removing the masking tape. Which gave me the stencil. 

Finally was the taping up of the screen and pulling the ink through. The fabric paper is extremely thin the the metallic paint would seep through to the bed. Which meant wiping it off before the next print. 

If you have any questions about the print of the process, drop me an email or leave a comment. 

DON'T EAT THE PIPS. 

Wood Cut.

A wood cut I'm designing and planning to print tomorrow. I've kept it simple because I'm using it more of an experiment at the moment. I'll keep you posted with posts.

Don't eat the pips.

The pissed off Panthers from the Rainbow Forest.

The young Bear Prince's mighty master summoning to very pissed off panthers to the attack.

The background has been pulled though a silk screen, and the rest is Posca.

Other news, I know I was meant to get the etsy shop up and running by today but we had an early Christmas party yesterday so I'm running behind. It'll be up tonight though, WHEY!

Don't eat the pips.

Poscaing up the walls of a church. Me as a nature head.

Whey colossal blog post...

When I was at the exhibition space last week I noticed how grand the archways in the church where and how much I wanted to draw on them. So I went out and bought the fattest Posca I could and let rip. Before starting I scribbled a quick sketch of the basic shapes I wanted on the back of a flyer for reference. I’ve got the taste for it now though so if anyone has a church or space they want defacing with my stuff I’d be interested. Naturally it won’t be a picture be me inside a spotted fish, unless that’s what floats your boat.

Don’t eat the pips.