I’ve always somehow wanted to put together a visual diary and a couple of people I follow on Instagram have recently inspired me to give something a try. When I was little I was hugely influenced by The Diary of an Edwardian Lady, The Island and The Amateur Naturalist I just seem to gravitate towards the natural world, observing life through the days, months and years. I love painting and drawing but I’m not much good at it, but I was encouraged to try and print in a way that looks as though it’s been washed on by watercolour. A little while ago at The Photography Show, I bought a photographic emulsion after watching a demonstration and having sourced some beautiful hand made paper by Khadi I decided to try the emulsion. The first couple of applications were pretty messy and it felt like I was going back to an old photographic class at Uni, where I used to love playing with light sensitive emulsion and printed old architectural columns in black and white. The effects fascinated me and I felt that this emulsion was as close as I could get to those days in the darkroom. Which, by the way, is on my agenda for my studio build, a darkroom.
-
- Toadsmoor, beech remnants
-
- Lightwood, quiet
-
- Lightwood, bones
-
- Lightwood, resting place
-
- Lightwood, layers
The collections I have created very much came together organically. I spend a great deal of time wandering through the woodlands close to my cottage, always looking up constantly tripping up! I’m fortunate to have so many different woods on my doorstep, so aiming for the least human traffic has been high on my agenda of late. The weather and light play the largest part in the images I have created and that combination have led to the groupings that you’ll see in my Store. I didn’t realize until making the selections how much I capture the trees, they change throughout the year, shedding their clothing and creating hope for new life, so I felt that this was a celebration of their winter presence, their bare bones, hence the creation of ‘Winter | Bones’. They illustrate structure, shape, form, soft colours and they always naturally frame themselves with their tall bare trunks and fronds which feel their way through the canopy.
It was a little more challenging to edit a grouping of 5 image for my Winter | Luminosity collection. Whittling them down was tricky as there was quite a cross over of leaves & plants so I finally landed on a group of photographs that felt like a frosty set from the garden. When looking into the seasons, I hadn’t appreciate that winter actually begins at the end of December, so keeping within those boundaries was something I was keen to adhere to.
-
- Frosted Peony Leaf
-
- Liquid Amber Leaves
-
- Frosted Winter Oak
-
- Frosted Hydrangea
-
- Teasel, Frosted New Life
I hope you enjoy seeing the painterly effects as much as I do, the texture and feel of each one is very individual and the colours are more muted than on a normal print, but I’m really pleased with the watercolour effect. I can’t help but start to think about how tulips would look printed on this paper too, not long to go now. Spring is on her way, the tulips tips have appeared, snowdrops, cyclamen, crocus, primroses and narcissi are all joining us in grasping as much sunshine as possible.
These collections are a Limited edition of 100 & are £75 for each set (excluding postage).
Individual photographic prints are also available, currently on request. All prints are signed and printed on 100% cotton Hahnemühle 310gsm art paper and UV protected for archival longevity.
