Meet the artists and collectives joining us at the Print Fair. These vendors will be Auckland Old Folks Association on Sunday only! 3 May 12-4.
@owairakacommunity offers a relaxed, creative space where printmaking supports wellbeing, exploring techniques from lino cut to cyanotype and gelli plate.
@some_such creates layered, character-driven works with limited palettes, blending illustration and printmaking into whimsical, narrative worlds.
@waitakereprintersink is a collective of artists who have been printing together since 2010, working across monoprint, intaglio, and relief at Corban Estate Arts Centre.
Learn more at printopia.nz
#printopia2026 #printdayinmay #iloveponsoby
printmaking . original print . print artists . print fair . auckland art . tamaki makaurau . creative community . contemporary print
I’ve been participating in a printmaking class learning how to use Tetra Paks in printmaking (although the intaglio style I thought we would 😅). We also did pressure prints aka frottage and learned the secret to getting good mono prints. It was a great course, would be excellent PD for teachers as it was all pretty accessible, although you need a press for some of it.
I love the softness of the pressure prints and the burred line of the monotype, it was also a fun challenge to work quite quickly and experimentally as my process is normally slower and more deliberate.
The course was run by the powerhouse behind the @printopia_festival@inaarraoui , I recommend it if you get the chance, really looking forward to Printopia now!
New birds for 2026
I made these recently for a mobile for a baby shower present. When my daughter was a baby I hung one over the change table, it was useful as you could just blow on it to get them to jiggle about, a welcome distraction.
For this one I repurposed some old watercolour experiments, removing from the process some of that pesky decision making. Then I only needed to do the tops of the wings, details in gouache and the eyes and beaks which were collaged for added personality.
Swipe for a variety of progress shots although I forgot to get any of the finished mobile 😅🙄
I’ve been enjoying doing these very detailed unplanned pen drawings recently (one was finished by my young assistant.)
When they go well I feel like you have a drawing superpower, but before I started these I hadn’t done any drawing for a while and felt like I’d like I’ve lost the knack. This cycle of loosing and regaining confidence seems to be an integral part of my process 😑
I might make them available as pages to print out and colour in, when I have some more. I test drove one with my daughter and she was happily entertained for over half an hour 👍🌱🌸🍀🌼
I had a break from here over the summer, am going to try keep my presence here low key and do more fun stuff irl, that’s the plan 🫠
The mad cats are back, with furious new additions! 😾😾😾
Would you or one of your loved ones like to be adorned with angry cats? I have a small stash of T-shirts but would love to get a few pre-orders to get a sense of whether I should get some more.
They are individually block printed with fabric ink, as such they can have some variation in each one.
I will have them for sale at the @studioone.toitu Christmas market on the 6th of December.
The shirts are from AS Colour and the price will be $35 on an outlet shirt or $45 for non outlet.
Also No Doggy! fans I am planning to add a No Doggy! banner to the bottom, let me know if you want that too.
Lastly I have carved some seaweed blocks which I so far have only tried on a tea towel and old shirt but could do a small run on shirts too so let me know if that’s your preference.
Thanks for reading to the end, sorry it’s a bit of a ramble 😹
A little experiment with Inktense pencils, they are like aquarelle/watercolour pencils, so used with water, but once dry they create a permanent ink wash which can be layered up and also can be used on fabric.
This was on a scrap of polyester and bled a lot when wet. I’d be keen to try it on cotton or calico to see how it goes on that.
Might be good for making flags….
🪨 🪨 🪨
Excited to receive some advance copies of a book I contributed to, The Ballad of Joe Taihape is by GP and poet Glenn Colquhoun. The book is an epic narrative poem about the character Joe Taihape, who is based on a figure who appeared in his friend Nigel Brown’s artworks. Brown had based the figure on Picasso’s The Old Guitarist (1903), although folded into his own Aotearoa New Zealand visual iconography of black singleted sawmill workers.
My chapter shows Joe entering the underworld, which is set at Muriwai beach on Auckland’s West Coast. I drew them as birds in part to show they had entered the spirit world and part as a way of de-identifying people. I wanted my images to convey the nostalgia of looking through an old photo album, so looked at old black and white photography to inform the drawings, Colin McCahon’s Muriwai paintings were also in the mix of visual influences.
I completed these drawings back in 2022 so it’s great to finally see them in print (excuse my terrible photos, had to hide under a blanket to minimise those pesky reflections).
The book will be out next year, I’ll post about it then for anyone who is interested in getting a copy.
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#theballadofjoetaihape
Some 🍉 paintings for a fundraiser my pal @ngaistradamus is running. The money raised will go to a mutual aid fund run by @welcomeback_slowfashion benefiting families in Gaza.
The watermelon has been used as a symbol for Palestine in times when the use of their flag was banned or suppressed.
The painting were also inspired by the interior artworks found in Richard Scarry books, I wanted to do simple paintings based on those but I got a bit carried away with details.
The first painting is in the current raffle which closes tomorrow and the second painting will be in a later raffle. Contact @ngaistradamus to purchase tickets ($10 each)
Thanks!
I have a new kids after school class at @studioone.toitu starting next term. This time we’re going to be sculpting funny creatures and characters. No experience necessary, should be good fun. There are still spots available, bookings and info on the Studio One Toi Tū website.
Not my own work, this is work from my workplace, the Ōwairaka Community Club, currently exhibited at @studioone.toitu until the 25th Sept (closed on Sundays).
One of our exhibitors does fantastic linocuts, they couldn’t all fit in the exhibition but if you would like to see them there is a link in my bio to the album. They are available for the bargain price $30 each.
#ōwairakacommunityclub #linocuts
This little gouache painting is in a raffle fundraising for a mutual aid fund helping families in Gaza. The raffle is run by the wonderful @ngaistradamus check out her page for more info.
Tickets are $10 each and there are lots of other great prizes available too!
See you on the bridge tomorrow 🍉
