For the second time I had a print accepted into the WCPF. I entered 6 and had one accepted, it was the one I made specifically, hoping it would be good enough, so I was thrilled. It's a reduction linocut called 'Winter Westerly'.
I visited the fair at the private view and the framed copy sold, then on the last day the browser copy sold too! (EDIT: by the time I was asked to send an invoice a third print had sold). I had priced the print at £200 so the fact that three people have invested this much of their money into my work is both humbling and very exciting.
This is the kind of validation that really pushes me forward to try and create better work, having sold three copies of last year's print (priced at £50) I realised once I was there that having made it into the fair, I was also desperate to actually sell as well. My validation cup is now well and truly full to the brim! The challenge now is to keep it there...
Whilst musing over why people may have been interested, I thought about last year's print, 'Spring Mist in Green' (the same paper but torn in half):
I wondered whether the time of year had anything to do with the buyers. Last year did people like the idea of spring because the fair is in November, and this year were they more likely to buy winter-based prints because the fair is in winter?
I suddenly realised that seasonality is really important in my work. I have made numerous prints that are all exploring the way the forest changes throughout the year. It seems really silly to me now that I've never realised this before, despite knowing very well that I really enjoy the changing seasons (I'm a keen gardener when I find the time).
The three above prints are all firmly set in Winter. The collagraph plate was made using materials foraged from the forest in winter, I think I chose a wintery blue for the collagraph layer because I made it in winter.
The two below are pure spring.
As I mused upon this preoccupation with the seasons I wondered where my sunset prints fit into this as they have no obvious seasonality. They do however have a very firm time of day. They're sunset. They could be sunrise if you live on the other side of the forest, but to the people of Bagshot or Ascot, this is sunset. I think that you can tell the first one (top left) was made in late winter - that sky is very wintery!
I have always pondered what exactly it is that I'm exploring in my work. I'm becoming more comfortable with the idea that it doesn't need to be one thing, that I can explore lots of themes, although probably not all at once! I think I'm beginning to realise that part of the exploration of my relationship with familiar landscapes is actually somehow tied up with the fact that I feel I know the landscape well because it changes so much throughout the year, and I notice those changes.
The other place that I would like to explore more is the Norfolk coast and broads. I've been feeling rather stuck and not brave enough to really have a go as yet. I've made a few collagraph prints but they were not really recognisable as Norfolk, they were pretty generic seascapes. I'm wondering whether the lack of noticeable seasonal change at the beach is what's hindering me. Also, the fact that I only visit Norfolk between April - October means I don't know what the beach looks like in winter (I can imagine - windy & desolate!). The main seasonal changes are wildlife based rather than the beach looking different. In winter the little terns have gone but the beach is full of seals and their pups. I don't know whether I'm brave enough to tackle animals and birds in my prints. I fear I lack the drawing skills to do them justice. I have a hang up about copying from books or photographs but sketching from life when the birds are skittish, moving and far-away is difficult. I think this is something I need to overcome since I know that many other printmakers and other artists use lots of second-hand reference material for their wildlife depictions. It just feels slightly like cheating!
I am pleased that I've made another step forward in analysing my work and seeing what's important. The recognition of my own reaction to seasonality means that I can safely store my plans for a bigger bluebell print until the spring when I will be fully immersed in the lime greens of the new leaves and will enjoy watching the bluebells change from light blue to a deep lavender. I know that if I tried to make that print now it likely would not be quite as vibrant and I would feel out of kilter with the season.