It’s about time I printed these little Chickadees!! I carved them when I was in the Yukon back in August- it’s time they came to life!! #chickadees #printmaking #lino #linocut #linoprint #art #artist #tynemouthartistincanada #wildlife #birds #calgary #yyc #alberta #speedball #speedballink

The results are in! I have to say- I'm pretty impressed! Yesterday I tested out the @speedball_art professional oil based ink. Until now I'd been using Caligo ink when I was in the UK (oil based), and Iove the finish oil based inks give!- and then I gave the Speedball water based ink a go when I got to Calgary; simply because it's easy to come by- I couldn't find oil based in any of the art supply shops I checked in the city. I wasn't too happy with the finish though- I mean; it's obviously great for some, but it wasn't what I was looking for. @speedball_art kindly sent me some of their professional oil based ink (and paper) to experiment with (after I complained that I couldn't find any oil based ink anywhere!) and yesterday I was finally able to test it out. It has a bit of a smell- but that's normal, I kinda like that! It rolls well and is thick enough to leave the deep, glossy finish I wanted but not too heavy that it sinks and bleeds into any small engravings! It still isn't dry this morning (wouldn't have expected it to be as oil based takes a lot longer to dry) but I am really happy with the finish! Thank you Speedball! Now, next challenge is to get some local art shops to order it in for me! 😊 #speedball #art #artist #printmaker #printmaking #handmade #lino #linocut #linoprint #nature #wildlife #pfeil #pfeiltools #arcticgrayling #speedballink #tynemouthartistincanada #review

It's been a while since some Gyotaku happened! Hopefully I can end that lull in the coming few weeks as I'm off to Kluane National Park in the Yukon. For those who don't know- my husband @m.ayre is a historic climate change researcher and works for the Arctic Institute for North America based in UofC. They have a research station way out in Kluane National Park so we're heading out there for a few weeks on Wednesday! There will be a lot of transcribing (I'm a sporadic research assistant on the side don't you know?!) but also hopefully a lot of wildlife spotting and some fishing (and therefore printing!)- and not too sure what else to expect! I've never been that remote before!! So definitely looking forward to see what I can catch and print amongst other things!! Will post any such articles on Instagram when I eventually get internet- and feel free to follow @m.ayre -he posts some cool photos from his travels and I'm sure he won't mind. 😊 #gyotaku #fish #fishart #fishprint #printmaking #nature #wildlife #calgary #canada #alberta #yukon #art #artist #tynemouthartistincanada #fishing #handmade #seabass

The goldeneye is all carved and printed! I think I'm quite happy with him! #printmaking #goldeneye #bird #art #artist #lino #linocut #linoprint #handmade #wildlife #nature #tynemouthartistincanada #calgary #yyc #alberta

It's a sketching in your PJ's kind of day... #drawing #art #artist #goldeneye #commongoldeneye #bird #nature #wildlife #printmaking #linoprint #linocut #calgary #yyc #alberta #canada #tynemouthartistincanada

It's carving time! (I said in the way of the Power Rangers) Pfeil are my tools of choice. #printmaking #wip #workinprogress #linocut #linoprint #goldeneye #bird #nature #wildlife #printmaker #art #artist #handmade #calgary #yyc #alberta #tynemouthartistincanada #pfeil #pfeiltools

It’s that time again- #marchmeetthemaker with today’s prompt being “Achievements.” I’m pretty happy with where things have taken me so far- I’ve worked hard for sure but I’ve also been gifted with some great opportunities and some great people around me. Here are what I feel so far are Curious Seagull’s biggest achievements: Top left photo- when my work was first stocked in a shop. Middle left- when my work was used as a school art project in a local school. Bottom left- when I was invited to sell my artwork in a gallery Top right- my several successful craft fairs- the one photographed was where I sold my 100th print which was exciting! Bottom right- when some of my gyotaku work was published in a national magazine. So not bad I don’t think!- looking forward to what will happen next- need to get my tools out!! #printmaking #art #handmade #artist #linocut #linoprint #gyotaku #gallery #craftfair #sealife #tynemouthartistincanada #achievements #northsea #northeast #coastal #nature #wildlife

Quickly getting this one on for yesterday! (Oops!) and will do today’s later tonight!! So- for yesterday’s #marchmeetthemaker it was “can’t live without”. Mine isn’t necessarily 100% true- I can live without the mojito- I just like them!!! But my note/sketch book, pencil case & contents, Pfeil tools and the other obvious things there- I definitely need for my craft! My kindle is there because I need that too!! Not for print making- just for relaxation- which is essential! 😊 #printmaking #cantlivewithout #handmade #art #kindle #pfeil #pfeiltools #linocut #linoprint #tynemouthartistincanada

Today’s #marchmeetthemaker is ‘Inspiration’. If you’re familiar with my artwork you’ll realise that my artwork tends to have a bit of a theme. Living on the North Sea coast in England was good enough inspiration to grease the wheels for sure. I’ve always loved wildlife and thought it made sense for me to have a go at documenting them! My focus has definitely been on the animals that live within the sea and depend upon it. I don’t see that interest changing any time soon. But I’m also excited as I’m now being inspired by a whole new continent! It’s very exciting! 😊 First photo is of the beach that is at the end of my old street. The next few photos are a walk through of a few razorbills I was inspired to carve after seeing several of them sitting on the cliffs one day. #inspiration #printmaking #art #handmade #beach #seaside #northsea #razorbills #lino #linocut #linoprint #tynemouthartistincanada #tynemouth #yyc #alberta #calgary

Day 5 of @joannehawker ‘s #marchmeetthemaker is “photography”. For me- I can never decide which style I like. I love a mixture of rough and ready, close ups and neatly placed pieces. Unlike the style my artwork seems to have developed- I’ve not yet been able to find a style of photography that works for me, but I also worry that it isn’t my focus. It’s something that I want to work on this year- so watch this space I guess!! (Going to use this meet the maker exercise to make note of what I think I’m doing well and what I think I need to work on!) #printmaking #linocut #linoprint #handmade #art #tynemouthartistincanada #gyotaku #sealife #nature #wildlife

Today’s #marchmeetthemaker prompt is “where”. Where for me started several years ago in Tynemouth on the North East Coast of England. It’s a lovely village a short drive from Newcastle and we were lucky to have the sea on our doorstep! But most recently our journey brought us to Calgary, AB in Canada. It’s somewhere we hadn’t planned on coming (we hadn’t planned anything to be honest!) but my husband found the perfect post-doc here at the university & here we are!! While landscape wise it’s a total world away from Tynemouth- I certainly can’t complain at having the Rockies barely an hour to the west and the prairies to well...in every other direction! The wildlife here is awesome and definitely inspiring but I still love the birds & fish that call the North Sea home- and I don’t think I’ll be forgetting that any time soon. #tynemouth #newcastle #northsea #calgary #alberta #yyc #tynemouthartistincanada

Throwback to this dude! Currently planning my new studio! It’s bigger than the space I had in the UK- so looking forward to filling it with plants and I plan on bringing a bunch of my things back with me from the UK when I visit in May. So looking through some older prints to get the juices flowing again....watch this space! 😊 #printmaking #linoprint #linocut #handmade #ocean #wildlife #sea #sealife #hermitcrab #crab #art #artist #tynemouthartistincanada #throwback #northsea #nature

It turns out my #bestnine are all print related- that makes me happy!...and also lets me know that I should probably sort myself out and do some more!! 😊 Thank you all for all the likes and follows and interaction- I always prefer Instagram as I find the community is so supportive- so thanks again! I hope you’re all enjoying the last few days of 2017!! #bestnine2017 #printmaking #lino #linocut #handmade #original #linoprint #tynemouthartistincanada #calgary #alberta #yyc #art #artist

So...the water based ink I’m still not used to. It dries very quickly which with these designs I don’t mind. But I’m not totally in love with the texture. In the UK i used Caligo oil based ink which I loved. But here I’ve tried the Speedball Professional oil based ink (thanks to them sending me some), and I am finding the drying time impossible to deal with. My Caligo ink would dry in around 3-4 days on the 100% humid north east coast of England. The Speedball version is taking literally weeks to months in a barely humid at all Calgary. Will welcome any thoughts? @speedball_art #speedball #lino #linocut #reliefprint #printmaking #handmade #chickadees #linoprint #nature #wildlife #tynemouthartistincanada #calgary #alberta #yyc

Testing out some professional @speedball_art ink that they kindly sent me- and some paper too. I am a fan of oil based ink- I much prefer the finish and I think it's much nicer to work with- I also feel it suits my style a lot more than water based ink. Personal preference I guess. My usual ink isn't sold in Canada (certainly not that I can find) so I'm really hoping this fits the bill as it's a lot easier to get ahold of!! Will comment later when a few test prints are dry!! 😊 #speedball #ink #printmaking #art #artist #handmade #linoprint #linocut #arcticgrayling #nature #wildlifeart #tynemouthartistincanada #speedball #speedballink #calgary

Well I had to do an Arctic Grayling whilst staying in the Yukon didn't I?! Enjoyed carving this one. Played around with some of the scales and feel quite happy with it. Now it just needs the ink!! #kluanenationalpark #kluanelake #printmaking #printing #art #artist #handmade #lino #linoprint #linocut #pfeil #pfeiltools #arcticgrayling #grayling #fish #fishart #yukon #yukonterritory #nature #wildlife #inspiredbynature #tynemouthartistincanada (at Kluane National Park and Reserve)