Inky Folky Flowery Girls in My Sketchbook

I wanted to see if the new flower designs I've been working on could be incorporated into folk style costumes so I started to try out ideas in my sketchbook using coloured inks. After filling a few pages I returned to a previous source of inspiration; Polish papercut dolls. Though the papercut dolls are very simple and have limited detail there is something about them I really like. I hope I have captured some of their qualities in these inky illustrations.

A Colourful Collection of Cards

I am gradually adding more flowers, birds and cats to my new collection of hand printed greetings cards. The designs feature some reoccurring motifs and I've also tried to use a similar format for each one. They aren't inspired by anything in particular but I like the fact that they have a retro feel. There are probably some folk art and Eastern bloc design influences too which is good!
   

Screen printing cards by hand is hard work as each one has to be perfect. It is fairly quick to print the first colour but the second colour has to be registered accurately for every single card. I am very careful not to make any mistakes as they have to be rejected. I also try and keep my hands clean so there are no inky finger prints!

Full of the Joys of Spring!

Spring is a good time for screen printing; not too cold, not too hot, just right! To celebrate I mixed up some different colours and printed another new design with a gradient for the background. I really like the combination of yellow and blue at the moment and it's good to take a break from peach and orange.