Billie Josef Prints

Packaging art prints can ensure your precious artwork reaches its buyer in perfect condition. So you don’t have to deal with a damaged print and returns and refunds. So with a bit of care and planning, you can securely package your art prints. Then they’ve got the best chance of arriving undamaged at their destination.

How to Package Art Prints

• Cut 2 pieces of double wall cardboard slightly larger than the print itself
• Make corner pieces from folding off-cut pieces of fancy printing paper
• Slide the corner pieces on to each corner of the print
• Attach corner pieces with masking tape to the cardboard being careful to only get tape on the corners and cardboard, not on the print
• Cut a piece of acid-free archival tissue or paper to a size where it can be slotted in to the corner pieces on top of the print as a layer of protection
• Place the 2nd piece of cardboard on top and secure with tape
• Add identifying label
• Slide into bubble wrap bag and seal
• Add a few business cards so when friends of your customer ask where they got a print of such fine quality they can pass them on
• Around Christmas time, add a hand-printed Christmas card. Because that’s what Santa would have wanted.
• Seal into a weatherproof outer envelope
• Ensure your return address is visible and send by trackable post

I recommend taking a look at the work of Shaun Tan, Sybil Andrews and Richard Bawden, very different styles but fantastic stuff.

I have fallen in love with the work of Frans Masereel since being given a copy of his book The Sun, The Idea and Story Without Words.

Etchings are also appealing (only partly so that I can invite people to ‘come up and see my etchings’) and plan to try it despite friends and colleagues expressing concerns about my having access to an acid bath.

My print “Thug Life” has been selected for the Royal Academy of Art Summer Exhibition. I just knew having Grayson Perry in charge would work out well for me!

The Summer Exhibition opened on Tuesday and is full of great artworks from a wide variety of British and international artists and is really worth a visit. Most especially the Sackler Wing upstairs which boasts Grayson Perry, Tracey Emin and … an original Billie Josef.

These starlings are flying off the wall (So sorry, couldn’t help myself…) so if you want one for your home make like Jessica Ennis and sprint to the Royal Academy buyers page. It shows up under ‘What’s Popular’ too, naturally.

The first time I cut the sepia layer, with the trees and building outline, I cut it the wrong way round so it didn’t line up with the building wall. There were tears and some world-class sulking.

The sky was not just a clear blue but with no variation like a blue blind pulled down as a backdrop. In the UK even what I’d describe as a clear blue sky has such variation even if it’s only slight streaks of deeper or lighter colour rather than clouds.

The print is based on a photo from the Gals get Middle-aged in Morocco Tour, 2016.

Introducing the (Really) Great Crested Grebe.

A Crested Grebe, with a slightly Jurassic feel to it, snatching a little light lunch directly out of the water.

This is an original print in a run of just 25, printed on high quality white 300gsm Somerset paper, inked in Sepia.

£130 unframed.

I recommend ‘Learning Linocut – A Comprehensive Guide to the Art of Relief Printing though Linocut’

Although I had been printing for a year or two before seeing this book I still found it immensely useful. As a self-taught artist I learn the practical matters through trial, and often expensive, error and there are some really useful practical tips such as putting slips of paper between the print and the pegs when hanging them to dry to prevent indentation. Little details that make a big difference.

There are photos accompanying descriptions of technique which I appreciate.

Quite apart from these very practical matters Susan Yeates also talks about Inspiration, Ideas and Imagination and some of the example prints are wonderful.

Have a go, create your masterpiece, then never speak of how easy it is. Or I shall have to kill you.

Individually hand-printed cards on luxurious Italian Fabriano paper.

Pack of 10 is £14 but if you sign up you can get them for £11.20 and FREE postage.

The 20% discount for everything on the site expires on the 1st January 2018

Go to the shop and get the Christmas Cards here!

IN the Brook Gallery, in the fabulously named Devon village of Budleigh Salterton, I came across some great prints by North London artist Lisa Takahashi. I wanted these cyclists on my wall to look at every day. Lucky I didn’t buy it as their wasn’t room for so much as an anorexic mouse on the crammed train back to Paddington, it was standing, and shallow breathing, room only. Thinking of the riders sweeping down the hill, gripping the road on the curve, in the green of the countryside helped!

Pictures like this were what made me want to try lino-printing myself. Now I want to venture into bigger prints and  (gasp) maybe even colour.

Breeze by Lisa Takahashi