03.08.20

A month or so ago I made a small ink piece titled 'Shrouded Moon.' I have decided to continue this as a series, making images each month around the occurrence of the full moon. The strangeness of the times perhaps playing a part, the ink I sought out back in 1431 has materialised. Courtesy of Cat Boettcher who has lovingly crafted a very good quality ink out of galls gathered from local Oak trees. This type of ink has fascinated me for some time, and I have used it before, although it was a much more anonymous bottle. It is good to know where the material comes from, a living substance born of the earth. It has been at the periphery of my thoughts for some while, but soon I intend to create my own ink, and I will focus the gathering of galls in my native West Sussex. 

Cat writes..
"This ink has been made following the 1431 recipe, using traditionally-made ferrous sulphate (or 'green vitriol') and oak galls gathered from the wooded Common Land in Loxley Valley (Robin Hood's home turf) according to the ancient common-law right of Estovers. Iron-gall ink was the most commonly-used ink in Europe for over 2000 years, and is found in almost every ancient manuscript from the very earliest bible, right through to the illuminated manuscripts of the 14th century and beyond."

Text from Cat Boettcher's Instagram page - https://www.instagram.com/p/CCB5TtuHu3A/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Shrouded Moon (2)

Shrouded Moon (3)

Shrouded Moon (4)

In each of these images the oak gall ink has been used exclusively on the mountain areas, and has also been blended with the acrylic ink which forms the rest of the piece.

(All images) 

Oak gall ink, and acrylic ink, on paper

34 x 16 cm

2020

£150 each. p&p to U.K is £8. Available to collect from the studio free of charge.

To purchase simply click the image to be taken to the website shop. Feel free to get in touch with any queries you may have. If you would like to view these, or any other works, we can now begin to think about arranging studio visits again.

These works are participating in the Artist Support Pledge - This initiative has gone from strength to strength since being set up by Matthew Burrows in March. See the website for full details. In essence the idea is simple; artists post an image of a work on Instagram (or other social media) using the hashtag #artistsupportpledge. The piece must be priced at £200 or below. When an artist has achieved sales of £1000 they pledge to purchase work to the value of £200 from another artist. This seems to be tremendously beneficial for many artists across the world right now. You can see the images available by searching the tag #artistsupportpledge, or seeking out @artistsupportpledge. 

All of the work available in my website shop priced at £200 or below is included in this pledge. Some have been reduced in price in order to participate. You can keep up to date with any other work added by following me on Instagram @aphillipsarts.

Inspirations

Thank you for reading