This month, we’ve got one for animal-lovers as we’re stoked to present a selection of prints that feature animals, from our four legged pets, to tropical birds, and sea dwellers. Including multi-layered screen prints, and intricately carved lino prints, our members have depicted animals through a variety of techniques, and have even helped raise money for animal charities! Check out the prints below:
Rowena Quill: Tropic
Tropic is a screen printed edition inspired by Rowena Quill’s love of animals, the Year of the Tiger, and the beauty in nature. The intricate details and colour palette are influenced by the rich, colourful, and embellished interiors of the Renaissance period, while also adding oriental elements which blend the aesthetics Rowena is inspired by from the east and west. This multilayered print features a majestic tiger that is adorned with a metallic gold halo, lounging over a bed of pink water lilies, and under a sky of vivid clouds which are embellished with a metallic blue lining and encapsulated with white detailing. Each print is hand registered and each sheet of white Fabriano cotton paper is mono printed by hand using an oil based customised mix of a Pantone purple and white ink.
Press Relief / Masy Chighizola: Hair of the Dog
“Sometimes you just need a little ‘hair of the dog’!” This 3 color linoleum reduction block print is inspired by a cat version that Masy Chighizola of Press Relief made years ago. The cat version was influenced by a painting she saw in a New Orleans, Louisiana bar of a fat cat holding a shot glass and smoking a cigarette. She tells us; “I thought it was time for a dog version and transformed the fat cat smoking a cigarette to the smoking bulldog at the end of the bar”. The dogs are pictured having a good ol’ time listening to the trumpet player. The old cat version edition has since sold out, but Masy is currently in the process of making a new one. Stay tuned!
Julie Miammmiam: The Spirit
The Spirit is a 3 colour hand-drawn and hand-printed screenprint, on A4 acid-free Dorée paper. The limited edition and signed print was presented at Supalife Gallery last summer for the Stattlab group exhbition. For this print, Julie Miammmiam was inspired by the idea to show an animal as a playful spirit of the forest. She chose the panther for its flexibility and its strength, but also for the contrast, like a shadow, with the forest in the background.
Stellabox: Along the Coastal Path
“On holiday in Wales this summer there was a very curious blackbird who kept following us as we walked the Welsh Coastal Path- naturally he demanded to be made into a print,” says Haychley of Stellabox Designs. She was keen to include a rocky ground and the lovely coastal plants she kept seeing too. Haychley experimented with adding colour to the print itself, and felt an abstract block of colour might work best. The piece is now available in yellow, green, lilac, and peach. Along the Coastal Path is a multiblock linocut print carved into traditional grey lino and printed by hand with a wooden spoon onto Japanese HoSho paper.
Studio Kars + Boom: And Into The Forest I Go
Through their prints Studio Kars + Boom hope to escape from reality for a while. They create landscapes in which they themselves would like to wake-up in, and in order to unwind, they like to retreat into nature. The studio photograph all of the places they come across and use these memories to create new landscapes. If you look closely, you can find an animal in almost every print! In And Into The Forest I Go the bird stands for freedom, and the main character is a fox. This giclee print is 50 cm x 70 cm, signed and numbered in an edition of 17.
Isabelle Lin: Printmaker
This print was inspired by Isabelle Lin’s studio’s cat’s frequent contribution to her printing sessions; “Somehow she prefers to walk in oil-based inks, which are of course harder to clean up!” This was the first print where Isabelle tested transferring her design using acrylic medium and a laser printout of the design. It is printed in water-based ink on Awagami Unryu kozo paper.
Sabine van Rooij: Giraffe
Giraffe is the first reduction print Sabine van Rooij ever made; “I Learned lots of stuff about letting go, where to cut and the type of linoleum to use”. The print was created whilst Sabine was following a course about multiple ways to add colour to prints. She tells us; “I kind of put this one off until last because I was soooo scared of ‘losing the block’ but this process was so much fun and I’ve been experimenting with it a bit more.”
Todd Drake: Self Portrait as Whale
As a child Todd Drake spent his summers along the coastline of the Atlantic on a thin stretch of sand called the Outer Banks. Here, he would read about shipwrecks and whaling trips gone bad along the coastline knicknamed “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” Back then, he would draw giant whales erupting out of the water like a missile, full of power and fury. Fast forward deep into Todd’s adulthood and he is now drawing whales again. This time they are filled with wisdom, and covered in battle scares. They speak of the long wonderful journey that life can be and point to peace with oneself and the world, rather than fury. The most commonly hunted whale off Todd’s childhood’s coastline was the Right Whale – so named because it was the right one to hunt, being smaller and slower than other whale species. Today, only 350 “Right Whales” exist in the world – they are nearly extinct due to hunting and now entanglements in fishing nets and lobstering ropes. “I hope you see me in this print, and our 350 brothers and sisters who need our care to continue blessing this plant in all their right ways.”
Cat Wondergem: Upside Down
Cat Wondergem began this linocut back in January of 2020 as a commentary on the state of the world. “Little did I know how much crazier things would become, both in my country and the world,” comments the printmaker. All the headlines collaged into the framed piece are from the news of 2020, largely in the USA. The print is oil-based ink and watercolor and now has a home in Chicago.
Carolina’s Print Studio: Liber Admirationis
Liber Admirationis (Book of Wonder) is Carolina’s approach to the traditional Ex Libris. “Crows are beautiful creatures that have always inspired me. They have so much mystery and symbolism associated with them, that I found them to be the perfect subject for a bookmark print,” says the printmaker. Carolina wanted to portray all the adventures, mysteries, and wonders books can take us on while at the same time being safe places where there are no rules and where we can drift and let our imagination rule – worlds we can get ourselves lost while feeling safe. The bookmarks portray a stack of books guarded by a mischievous crow, our protector of wonders and our companion in mystery and adventure.
Payton Doerner/ Roc Block Prints
The idea for this print was provided by Payton Doerner’s sister, who asked her to make a print of a hare as a gift for her friend. Payton went to her supplies, found a decently sized scrap piece of speedy carve, and began sketching out her design. Once finalised, she transferred it on to the speedy carve and began carving. Originally, Payton had planned to make the hare jumping over some mushrooms, but last minute decided to print the design twice to give off a mirrored effect. To this day it is one of her favourite prints. Payton states; “My favorite part about this piece is the hares face. I think I captured the look of a hare accurately, while also incorporating my own style.”
Virginia Diakakis: Hoopoe
The Hoopoe is one of the birds Virginia Diakakis often sees when she goes to the park with her dog. Describing the bird as “gorgeous”, Virginia decided he should be the first one in the series of Greek Wildlife themed linoprints she is hoping to create this year. The piece is a two layer print, hand printed on a 120gr ‘Simili Japon‘ paper.
Stephanie Nierstenhoefer | OOAK: Pelican
“I enjoy decontextualising my photographs and then reconstructing new realities through illustration,” says Stephanie of OOAK. Using bold colour palettes allows her to explore the emotional juxtaposition of the subject matter. The intense stare of the pelican comes through beautifully in this illustrated photograph. The piece is a limited edition Giclee print on Hahnemuhle German Etching. Embossed, numbered, and signed.
Heather Groves: Hector
Hector is Heather’s cat and her trusty studio assistant. She tells us; “He has many names, platinum puss, fluff face, Mr puss and Hector the protector. He likes to follow my partner and I around the house- he chirps and meows and has conversations about everything going on around us. Hector makes himself endlessly available, which makes him easy fodder for inspiration.” Heather’s current work is a series of woodcuts that focus on the silliness of Hector, capturing him unaware and looking his most ridiculous.
Marion Kamper: Felicitas
Felicitas is a handcut and handprinted linoprint on beautifully textured Fabriano Rosaspina 220 gsm paper, size A2. The black on Rosaspina Version is a limited edition of 50 pieces and is stamped with a hand-carved monogram stamp in Cranfield metallic gold on the front, signed and numbered. Marion named the piece ‘Felicitas’ as she is planning to adopt 2 kittens this year and one will be called Felicitas. This print was her first larger lino block, and she had a great time carving it!
Dungarees + Squeegees: Wasting My Potential
Part of a run of emotional cats, Wasting My Potential was linocut by Dungarees + Squeegees’ pal Daisy Stimpson and was then printed in-house by D+S. Daisy used linocutting in Covid-19 to unpack the world around her and let out some creativity. The linocuts now form a t-shirt series with the latest being Wasting My Potential, printed on organic cotton and waterbased inks available to pre-order right now.
Caroline Erolin: Leopard Slugs
Leopard Slugs is a five-layer reduction linocut print and the third in Caroline Erolin’s series of Lesser Loved Garden Critters (although very much loved by her). The leopard slug is the largest slug in the world, yet they don’t eat living plants, rather dead and rotting vegetation along with fungi, which helps recycle nutrients and fertilise the soil. They are omnivores and will even hunt down other slugs! The backgrounds for each print were sponged directly onto the lino and printed from there without the need for any carving, making for a unique take on the tradional technique. As this was done afresh for each print they are all slightly different.
Blockforest: Aetos Dios – The Eagle of Zeus
For this limited-edition linocut reduction print, Blockforest took inspiration from Greek Mythology and the golden eagle as the messenger of Zeus – Aetos Dios. Styled as a vintage postage stamp, this three-layer print was based on depictions in antiquity of this majestic bird as Aquila – both a constellation and the standard of the Roman legions, and partly inspired by Art Deco interpretations of eagles found on the Chrysler Building. Printed in Diarylide Yellow, Ochre and lustrous Gold inks, as an edition of only 26, this print is available from their stores.
Colour Black: Future Penguin
This print by Colour Black aims to raise awareness of climate emergenices as well as raising money for charity. Money from each print sold is going to fight climate change with WWF + GREENPEACE. Future Penguin was CMYK printed as a 4 layer screenprint on 250gsm southbank smooth in an edition 0f 100.
Steffi Möbius Ehrlich: Mein tränendes Herz
Mein tränendes Herz (My bleeding heart) is an A2 lino print on A1 handmade paper. Steffi tells us; “The title is not only about the plant that always stands in memory with Steffi’s grandma and her beloved natural garden, but is also connected with every wolf that has died in Germany, all over the world because of the ignorance and intolerance of people who hunt, run over, shoot, torture and hunt illegally.” The print is in memory of the lost wolves who tried to find a home and a family, and Annemarie Möbius, with a big heart, intelligent and down-to-earth. For each sold print the money will be donated to NABU Brandenburg who save the wolves in Germany.
Eneartworks: Cat and Crow Skulls
The life copy of the drawing subjects is an integral part of the life and learning of any artist. Enea has always been fascinated by animal skulls and for this reason he wanted to buy two of his favourite animals to have something concrete and three-dimensional on which to base his linocuts. The cat and the crow, in addition to being his favorite animals, also have a well-defined symbolic meaning that goes well with the ‘dark’ style of his linocuts. The particular conformation of bones and skulls with their cracks, irregularities and cavities, forces a work of synthesis which is essential for the success of a monochrome linocut. Enea submitted his work to the THE 2021 AWAGAMI INTERNATIONAL MINIPRINT EXHIBITION competition hosted by the Awagami Paper Factory in Japan, winning the honorable mention of the jury among many other artists.
Check out more work by our community and apply to become a member at www.members.peopleofprint.com.
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