A random record of the weekend

It's been a hot weekend here on the mountain and I have jumped from this to that and over there as I haven't been able to sit still and concentrate for too long.

I was showing somebody some folded books that had been used in a display a year or so ago, and found that a few of them were no longer in pristine condition, so I thought I'd popped them in the garden. With the pumpkins. It will be interesting to record the changes over time - no rain on them yet, just scorching sun.

The pumpkin patch has gone completely wild again and is rambling all over the block...

Looking from the studio shed,

Looking up to the studio shed it has clambered through the hedge and is rolling on down through the coffee bushes.

And there are a few pumpkins here and there.

On a completely separate note (I did mention random!) I have been pondering dry point etching on copper plates - I have this image in my head that I think drypoint can help create.  I like the notion of drypoint because it doesn't involve the use of acid, and is possibly easier to control and/or amend.

Over the years I have purchased a range of sharp tools that can be used to scratch into copper, creating lines and marks and I thought before I even begin, I should really try and work out what each tool will do and how it will do it, so I made myself a little sampler so to speak.

But first the tools - pointy!

I inked up the copper sampler and printed it using different inks, all on BFK Rives paper.

First using Aqua Charbonnels

Then Charbonnel oil-based inks - my first attempt with the oil-based inks was barely there I had wiped the plate so clean, hence the note about less aggressive wiping.

My third run saw me trying to make other marks as well and it is this one which shows some promise I think.

And then as we sat down to dinner on Saturday night - the sky offered us this. Stunning.

Life is random, but good.