Martin Truefitt-Baker
Artwork

A few months ago Rheged contacted me asking me to submit some of my linocut prints for their upcoming 'The Brilliance of Birds' Exhibition. Fifty Seven artists/photographers have their work included, a wide and interesting selection, I was really pleased to take part, a lot of my most popular wildlife prints feature birds. The way I like to work when making a composition is to imagine I'm there with the animal(s), rather than watching from a distance... so with birds, I can

Essdee, the art and craft manufacturer and shop, has just written a short article on me and my work. Here is the text plus some of the illustrations. Here's a direct link to the page... https://www.essdee.co.uk/martin-truefitt-baker/ Or it's the same text here. Martin Truefitt-Baker is a printmaker and painter based in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park in South Wales. Inspired by the surrounding landscape and wildlife, he creates striking reduction linocuts that capture th

I always enjoy the challenge of making reduction linocuts of the birds that live around my studio in the Usk valley. The rendering of feathers, especially with markings rather than fur, can be tricky. How much do you simplify or stylize the textures and patterns? Added to that, I often try make my designs from a viewpoint close to the animal, as if you are there with it. So this red kite design was conceived to give the feeling as if you were flying over the bridge yourself,

I started the design work for the new Frosty Full Moon Fox reduction linocut back in November last year. We had been getting a number of 'supermoons'over the past year, although sometimes behind all of the hyperboli, they were a bit underwhelming. The one full moon I remember around this time had an orange glow around it, I think it was called a Wolf Moon. I'd also been doing some early morning walks up on the mountainside, where I sometimes see the big dog fox, so things sta

Some beautiful views and video of Crickhowell bridge (over the River Usk) in the misty morning sunshine.

Christmas animation

I think that finding the right combinations of cutting tools for a relief printer is one of the hardest choices to make.

It's been a busy year! There have been some successes. I've managed to make 5 new reduction linocut prints but I've finished fewer...

Properly cleaned and cared for rollers should last a long time. I've developed this small group of rollers over several years, to end up wit

Summer has been a bit of a washout, so I was feeling a need to make a happy, warm positive print. The idea was pretty simple. My studio...

One for sorrow Two for joy Three for a girl and Four for a boy Five for silver Six for gold Seven for a secret never told Eight's a wish and Nine a kiss, Ten is a bird, You must not miss. There are many versions of this very old rhyme but I've never come across a version that varies much before eight. Some have up to 20 birds... I think they are getting a bit carried away (a whole Hitchcock film's worth!) Back in 2017 I hadn't been painting and printing for myself again fo

There have been no shortage of cold, stormy and rainy days this year, so I spent some time up on the mountainside where I had originally see

I ended up fascinated by the poetic idea of an otter swimming in the reflected stars and Milky Way of the night sky.

High up on the hillside behind my cottage there is a badger set. It's near to a small group of very old beech trees that stand very tall...

Fox bluebells spring linocut print purple blue green bracken wildlife vulpes stitchwort bees forest

I've been sorting through some photos looking for a background to possibly use in my next print. I ended up 'wasting' a couple of hours...

I've been lucky to have work in three exhibitions starting in January. I managed to get up to Conwy for the opening of the Royal Cambrian...

Well it's been another arty, exciting and busy year, with all of the usual highs and lows of life. I've made a fair amount of art, never...

This is my second attempt at making a career out of my own art and things have been going fairly well so far. For anyone who doesn't know...

A couple of months ago I was invited to take part in a pop up exhibition by Carl Bevan, a Cardiff artist whose work I admire. By some...