I've been working on and off on this linocut design for over two months.
There is a patch of mountainside behind where I live that is covered in bracken for most of the year. Towards the end of the summer into autumn the fronds start to change colour and begin to collapse and bend.
I saw a fox up there, quite high, just a glimpse, late in the day as it was getting dark. There is a bit of a track with short sheep-cropped grass and ruts, probably from a Landrover (it's very steep!).The bracken is a bit more spaced out. I've imagined this scene as if I'm low down at the level of the fox, looking up at the stars and a comet through the bracken.
There is a constellation called Vulpecula, The little fox, in the northern sky. Sometimes it is shown with a goose in it's mouth. I think the goose is represented by a specific star but I decided against the goose, it didn't match the scene I saw (and there are definately no geese on the hillside ). I have tried to make the position of the fox mirror the position of the stars. The actual constellation is hidden amongst the stars on the left hand side of the finished print.
As usual I made the design in acrylic and pen first. I tend to take a long time over this stage, I've learnt that, for me, if I rush the design stage, I end up trying to make changes in the middle of printing. A much harder task.
I always start out with a certain plan when it comes to colours but I can't help myself and I like to experiment a little. This ends up creating a 'varied' edition. No two prints are exactly the same. This print has two main colourways. One that uses a more purplish blue and a reddish orange. This has kept the twighlight sky away from any greenish tones.
The other colourway uses a more Prussian Blue in the mix and there are turquoise tints in the sky (see the first full image ).
As soon as they were dry I've had to frame one up for 'The Great Print Exhibition'. Rheged in Penrith. The print size is 60cm across, framed up 80cm.
