I recently entered a Print Prize Exhibition which will be at the RBSA (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists). I submitted three pieces that I thought might have been suitable. I was delighted and surprised to know that out of over 450 submissions they selected 90 pieces from only 74 different artists and I had had two selected, those you see above. ABSOLUTELY CHUFFED were two words that sprang to mind, and hearing this was a very timely boost for my low self confidence as an artist. The top one is a two layer gum print, made from two negatives separated for cool and warm tones. Limiting the scene to those two tones (and the combinations where they mix) gave the result you see and, for me, perfectly captured dusk in Dubrovnik on a warm summer evening as people venture out for the evening to eat, drink, meet friends etc. The second one is an image I took I believe at one of the historic properties in this country. I believe it is the desk of the writer who lived there. I really must go back and find out where I took it! There was a warm light coming through the window, so I chose to print it as a Cyanotype to capture the deep darks, highlights and everywhere in between, and overlay that with a Gum Bichromate layer to addd the warm tones to the highlights. I am taking these in to the RBSA in the next few days, and the Exhibition is on from 29 February to, I believe 6 April.
