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Some time ago, a series of linocuts were printed, in which a cat hatches from an egg in the middle of a field. I made both larger 50 x 30 cm versions of the image, with a larger sky, and smaller 20 x 30 cm versions. Now, three rabbits and a yellow/purple pastel sky flew into this smaller version. I think the egg is still getting color on its surface.
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For future mixed media works, I carved three small linocuts of flying rabbits. One of the rabbits even has wings. The size of these rabbits is about 10 x 10 cm.
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The cat card features a photograph of English textile artist Emma Morton's embroidery in her embroidery hoop. The cat is crying so much that a puddle of tears has already formed on the ground. There is a poster on the wall asking for a missing cat. Is the crying cat the missing cat, or is the cat crying for its lost friend?
Punaista tussia vielä muutamaan linopiirroslintuun ja kuva on mielestäni valmis. Alaosassa on linopiirros Pispalan harjusta portaineen. Yllä leimuaa punakeltainen pastellitaivas ja näkyy siellä sinistäkin taivasta pilvien välissä. Kuumailmapallo ja linnut ovat linopiirroksia, hiukan väritetty ja aurinkokin on linopiirros nauravine naamoineen. Kuvan koko on 50 x 60 cm. Nimensä kuva sai Juice Leskisen kappaleesta Afroditen poika: "Ja tuuli herää, aurinko hieroo silmiään".
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A little more red marker pens on the linocut birds and I think the picture is finished. At the bottom is a linocut of the Pispala ridge with its steps. Above, a red-yellow pastel sky flares and you can see some blue sky between the clouds. The hot air balloon and the birds are linocuts, slightly colored, and the sun is also a linocut with a laughing face. The size of the picture is 50 x 60 cm. The picture got its name from Juice Leskinen's song Aphrodite's son: "And the wind wakes up, the sun rubs its eyes".
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The hot air balloon flying in the red sky got some color. I added yellow, red, blue and orange stripes to the side of the balloon with felt-tip pens. Next I will print the little linocut birds and the sun.
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A hot air balloon over Pispala and orange in the sky. I added a few dark cloud edges, spreading next with my fingers. There are too many clouds. But the sun seems to have found its place in the upper left corner.
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In Terry DeRoy Gruber's black-and-white photograph, a black-and-white cat peeks out of a gap in the wall, looking a little sly. Has the cat managed to fit through that gap? Or has it already been on the other side of the wall? The gap looks hastily sawn and at least bigger than a mousehole. The photo is from Terry DeRoy Gruber's book "Working Cats" - but what work does this cat do? The card also includes a quote: "He's my silent partner. He prefers to remain behind the scenes."
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I now want a pretty colorful pastel sky, yellow and red over Pispala. In the upper right corner, you can already see a hint of blue sky under the birds. I'm still not sure where the new linocut sunr will be. A few clouds popped up in the sky. Will anything come of this - that's always the question at this stage of mixed media work.
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The sky over Pispala started with yellow pastel. The little linocut birds are waiting to be printed, as is the sun that has risen into the sky. Although I'm not at all sure about the position of the sun yet. Should the sun be higher compared to the hot air balloon? The matter is a little complicated by the fact that this new sun is such that before it can be printed in the sky, there must be some color under the sun that can be seen between the sun's rays.
Sarjassa linopiirroksia omassa kodissaan: kissat laatikossa. Ystävän hoitokissa tunki pakattavien tavaroiden joukkoon pahvilaatikkoon. Ja seinällä on linopiirrokseni kissasta laatikossa. Mikä yhteensattuma ja miten samanlaiset ilmeet suurisilmäisillä kissoilla! Mitä voidaan tästä päätellä: kissat rakastavat laatikoita!
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In a series of linocuts in their own home: cats in a box. A friend's foster cat was stuck in a cardboard box among the things to be packed. And on the wall is my linocut of a cat in a box. What a coincidence and how similar the expressions are on the big-eyed cats! What can we conclude from this: cats love boxes!
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A hot air balloon is flying over the Pispala ridge. I plan a group of birds in the same image and the sun to the left. This stage of starting mixed media work is always fascinating. scary but inspiring. At this stage I only plan and place linocuts.
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A bewildered-looking cat stands with round eyes at the top of the roof. The cat's right hand is in a armband. What exactly has happened? If the cat has already fallen off the roof, why has it climbed up again? The blue sky with clouds is magnificent. The painting is "Cat with Armband II" / Katze mit Armbinde II" by German Michael Sowa (b. 1945).
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A brightly colored linocut fish with yellow eyes swims under the yellow waves gilded by the sun. It feels as if the fish is talking as it releases bubbles into the water. The background is made with soft pastel crayons. The size of the picture is 15 x 15 cm. A verse of a poem by Lauri Viita gave this picture the name: "Like a bream on its side, it carries the strongest of the breams". I'm not at all sure now whether this fish could be a bream.
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The linocut fish is colored blue and white and the eye is red. In the background, the sun is reflected in the water and the fish swims at the very bottom. Clay and small aquatic plants tickle the fish's belly. The background was made with soft pastels. The size of the picture is 15 x15 cm. The name for this fish comes from Aale Tynni's poem: "I find that I fit well into a happy and small riverbed."
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The "London Calling Epe" pastel/linocut is already in its place in its new home. And the place is absolutely amazing! The red sky of the Arsenal football team in the painting and the Emirates Stadium visible on the northern horizon are above the chair from Arsenal's old arena, Highbury Stadium. The chair is also made of red leather. It is an authentic seat from the Directors Box at Highbury, which was demolished in 2008. The chair has an original nameplate, which mentions its owner: the club's then main owner, Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith. The painting and chair greet those entering the apartment next to a coat rack. There is also a pop art picture of Johnny Rotten on the wall in the hall in its red frames, the owner's first art acquisition. What is it like to be in this club!
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Englantilaisen kuvittajan Naomi Wilkinsonin "Still Life" / "Asetelma" on vuodelta 2020. Musta, oranssisilmäinen kissa istuu kellanruskealla lattialla. Taustalla näkyvät vaakasuorat lattialistat ja pinkki kukkapurkki mustine lehtineen. Asetelma on tosi pelkistetty, mutta rauhoittava. Työ on todennäköisesti kollaasi.
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"Still Life" by English illustrator Naomi Wilkinson is from 2020. A black, orange-eyed cat sits on a tan floor. In the background, horizontal floorboards and a pink flower pot with black leaves are visible. The still life is very simple, but calming. The work is likely a collage.
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In this fourth version of a linocut fish, a tropical fish colored with yellow-brown stripes swims among the waves. The background is, as usual, soft pastel, now quite bright blue water, small, white waves and a reflection of the sun. The size of the picture is 15 x 15 cm. The picture was named after P. Mustapää's poem: "There is no shore, oh Thesis".
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The third linocut fish is more colorful. The fish has blue, purple, red, yellow and green stripes made with colored pencils. The eye is shiny yellow. The background of this fish is deep blue water made with soft pastels, into which the sunlight is reflected in rays. The size of the picture is 15 x 15 cm. The picture was named after a verse from Lauri Pohjanpää's poem: "The day was a hot, the waves were moving".
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The second linocut fish is blue and white. Only the eye is red. Behind the fish, soft pastels also created blue and white water, where a few rays of sunlight are reflected. The size of the image is 15 x 15 cm. The name came from a verse from Lauri Viita's poem: "Under the waves, if not ahead".
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I made a few test prints of smaller linocuts of two fish. I tested coloring the fish by hand, testing them for a larger work. The colored fish alone seemed so lonely on white paper that I made a background of water with pastel chalks. This yellow-brown-gray fish has greenish water in the background. The picture was named "Only the blue of the forest, the green of the water and the flowers turn red" from Pertti Nieminen's poem Omnia mea. The size of the fish picture is 15 x 15 cm.
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The English artist Frances Bond (1905-1978) painted many cat paintings. And often the cats were white and fluffy, like in this card. Here, the cutie looks with her yellow-green shiny eyes in the middle of purple flowers or a flowering bush. Each flower is carefully painted separately and the green of the leaves stands out beautifully in the sunlight.
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Now this mixed media work I made for a fan of the Arsenal football team is probably finished. As requested, the Emirates Stadium over the roofs of London and the red color of Arsenal in the sky have been added to the picture. This "order" was really nice to do as I am an Arsenal fan myself. The work was named London Calling Epe, adapted from The Clash's song. The size of the picture is 50 x 30 cm. The sky is soft pastel and the birds, moon and view of London are linocuts.
