Cressida Campbell Woodblock Prints

Australian artist Cressida Campbell works with woodblocks, producing fine watercolour prints. I'd never heard of her until the feature in this month's issue of Vogue Living Australia. I like her interior prints and am particularly struck by her technique.

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Taken fron VL on the artist's method: Campbell first does a linear drawing straight onto the timber, then carves the fine lines that will separate the colours. The pencil is rubbed off, the block placed on an easel and the painting done with fine brushes and water-based paint. She applies two layers and, when the paint is dry, lays the block on the table and finely sprays it with water. She places a sheet of moistened Dutch etching paper on top and rolls a lino roller over it. "Then I'll pull back half the the paper and spray the block again, put it back, roll it, take up the other half and spray again and keep on spraying and rolling until there's enough paint on the print". Then touch(ing) up the print afterwards, putting a watercolour wash on the lines.

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A retrospective book (cover art below) of her work is now available.

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TA for h~fh

Also in this month's Vogue Living, Catherine Martin's homestead sets for Australia. I don't have a scanner so can't post any images until someone else does and I can *koff* 'borrow' theirs. The tiny image below is all stingy Vogue provides online.