Sheppey silver

Sheppey silver © Peter Gander

Again, for my exhibition at the end of May, a small painting of a view seen across the estuary from the beaches of west Whitstable, north Kent, showing the island of Sheppey, revealed here in the silvery sun, using mostly Payne’s Grey, a particular favourite colour of mine. Watercolour on The Langton paper (rough, 100% cotton). • 20 May UPDATE: Featured in The Artist magazine, July 2011.

‘Post Nude’ postcard linocut

‘Post Nude’ linocut © Peter Gander

A local art gallery, The Horsebridge Community & Arts Centre in Whitstable, where I will be exhibiting in May, has recently opened a new gallery (Gallery 3) and the curator Sarah Banville has challenged artists to produce an original work of art on a postcard. The local post sorting office is in danger of closing and in a double-edged benefit, the exhibition of tiny (A6) originals will not only make for interesting viewing for the public, but also for the lucky postman delivering the postcards en route to The Horsebridge. I already had a pack of Winsor & Newton Cotman 300gsm postcards with a semi-rough surface, great for painting watercolours on but not ideal for printing on, as the pitted surface needs a hard pressing to push the ink into them. (Thin paper is usually the substrate of choice for most linoprinters). I had to set the roller printing press so firmly in fact, that the lino left an embossed effect on the card. In the print shown, you can see the patchy areas where the ink hasn’t made it. Anyway, thematically, I chose what some might argue is a literal take on ‘Post Nude’ - (I was considering an aged life model looking pensive about her past, too ;) A few props and a neat visual twist leave much for the viewer to interpret. What’s your verdict? Seawhite of Brighton (UK) water-based ink on Winsor & Newton Cotman 300gsm postcard.