Sow, board print limited edition 1/10

Sow 1 of 10 board prints © Peter Gander

Following on from yesterday’s painting of the pigs at Snape in Suffolk, I wanted to explore a more gritty texture for the pig and an uncoated board print fits the bill nicely. Board prints (paper/card-based) are ideal for speedy but impressive printmaking. (The small print runs also make them more attractive for collectors). The pig here is cut out jigsaw-style from the background which is also kept for the second colour. The two pieces are then inked up seperately, printing the (pink) pig first ten times then running the printed pig through for the second (background/mud-brown) run. I did try other coloured papers for this, but only a black will reveal important lines, such as her mouth and the shadow under her ear. You have to think in negative values, which is quite tricky as the ‘holes’ become the black areas. You can see why I chose uncoated board for this, as it reveals some great textures you just don’t get with a smooth surface, such as line. The appearance is actually closer to woodgrain than lino. 2-colour oil-based ink on Raven black paper, 1 of a limited edition of 10.

Suffolk sow, Snape

Suffolk sow, Snape © Peter Gander

On the way back home from Orford we spotted this free-range pig farm at Snape, Suffolk. Their bright, chrome-like, corrugated tin huts resembled wartime Anderson shelters amidst a bleak landscape. There were many huge sows like this one snuffling out deep holes in the wet winter earth, looking pretty content. A large, dry brush dragged across the very rough surface of this paper ensures a lovely texture is obtained for the muck and dirt on the sow’s body. Sepia Conté pencil and watercolour on 300gsm Daler Rowney The Langton 100% cotton Forme Ronde (Mould-made) paper.

View from Room 8 at The Crown & Castle, Orford, Suffolk

Finally, a rainbow at dusk!

The ‘real’ view from Room 8

It's my birthday today and to celebrate this at the end of last week my wife Fiona organised a surprise overnight's stay in Suffolk, with a fly-fishing session en route. Forgive the poor quality of the shot taken in very low light, but we had arrived at about 1pm and on an overcast January afternoon, the light doesn't last for long. Numb fingers and chilled toes are the downside of a winter's birthday and soon took a grip. Dark at 5pm, I had a couple of takes in the afternoon, but the fish got off. Come dusk, however, when I had about 5 minutes left of light, I dropped a weighted cat's whisker into a deep area of the lake and counted it down to the bottom to be rewarded with a strong pull and this lovely 2.5lb hard-fighting rainbow which took a good 5 minutes to get in. Then it was off to The Trinity restaurant at The Crown and Castle in Orford, Suffolk for a hot bath, a cool pint of Greene King ‘IPA’ and a bottle of ‘Hop’ ale and a hearty meal of Potted Brown Shrimps followed, appropriately, by Fish Pie.

© Peter Gander

Fortunately, The Crown & Castle operate a relaxed departure time the morning after your stay, so I had the opportunity to paint this scene from our window looking out over the estuary at Orford on a drizzly misty morning before we left. 6B pencil and watercolour on 300gsm Grain Fin NOT paper.