Michael Gage

I've started work on a new linocut. It's 30 x 24cm: the largest block I've worked with, so far.

This is the first stage: I've sketched the design in pencil, and then gone over it in detail with a Sharpie marker. (The best sort of marker to work with on lino! It doesn't lose any of its definition when you clean the plate -- all other "waterproof" markers that I've tried fade in the washing.)



This stage took about three hours... It's going to be a long night.

We've started our own post office. Just stick one of these stamps on your envelope, and it will be delivered to the burrow of your choice!

Stamps are denominated in "c" for "carrots". A blue 1c stamp will get your letter all the way to the end of the next field.

Someone's eaten all our carrots! We need a detective to find the guilty party!

Shall we call Sherlock Holmes?


Shall we call Hercule Poirot?


No! There's only one team who can do this job...

Starsky and Rabbit Hutch!

I've started painting Ashdown Forest again. This is the view from Camp Hill, looking north.


Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30cm

I like the colours in this painting (ultramarine, cadmium yellow, red oxide, and a bit of cobalt in the sky, all over an underpainting in burnt sienna); and I like the perspective of the path leading you to the distant hills. On the other hand, I think the blocks of colour could do with more variety: some softer edges maybe in the distance, and some scruffier bits in the foreground.