A lively cat portrait in three colours plus black. 220 x 150mm

Cut entirely with a fine v-tool following the direction of the fur, varying in density to effect a change from light to dark and giving weight where it is needed.

Barbara’s studio as she left it. July 2018

So you want colour? Printed in an edition of 20 this title has been paired with another called ‘Circus’ for which there is no image – so far. Size: 435 x 440mm.

The imagery in this print is highly stylised and graphic in the manner of a poster. It appears that masks have been used to allow sharply defined areas of colour. Alternatively, the area of red may have come from a separate lino block over an underprinted yellow.

In wood-engraving, end-grain hardwood has traditionally been the preferred material but fruit woods and now synthetics are available providing less expensive blocks. A small piece of Boxwood that has been finished to a high polish and manufactured as type high (0.918″) is the product of craftsmanship and therefore costs many pounds per square inch. On this tight grained surface, lines and cuts of extreme refinement are possible.

In these three beautiful engravings all the tools available to the artist – gravers, spitstickers, bullstickers and tint tools, have been employed to great effect to achieve a remarkable range of tone and expression.

Shown at the Royal Scottish Academy summer show in 1978 and sold for the princely sum of £30 according to the label on the back of the frame. Edition of 24. This image is not the best but even so, there is joy in this sunny, flowery landscape. Can anyone supply a better image?

In addition to her work in printmaking, Barbara was frequently asked to provide illustrations for books or other graphic mediums. Black and white came naturally to her and drawing with a fine nib allowed for delicate pattern-making as in this bookplate.

In her illustrations for ‘The Minister’s Cat’ by Hamish Whyte and Carl Macdougall’s ‘A Cuckoo’s Nest’ her humour and decorative inventiveness is given free rein. Later, there were to be calendars in which she illustrated the monthly trials of living with a cat.

In the decade since ‘Horoscope’ many aspects of Barbara’s printmaking technique had advanced. The sheep have clearly been drawn from life as they huddle together and recede into the middle ground. Their black faces form accents against the white fleece which now follows the form of the animal beneath. Experiments with caustic etching have resulted in animated, textural skies. The landscape has become more literal; the hills gradually disappearing into the distance as they do in late evening. This subtlety is achieved by darkening each printing from pink towards blue. The rich texture of the branch is formed by a variety of cuts and gradations of colour. Symbolism from earlier cultures is brought in, Celtic in this case.

The ultimate refinement is the use of a dark red line around the tree and other close elements such as the mysterious hand in the bottom left corner. Such a fine line is difficult to cut in lino and demands great precision in registration.

The Sky Arc 1981

An early print from an edition of 14. The stated dimensions are 450 x 410mm but this may be the frame measurements rather than the print size. A poor image is better than none. Here it is impossible to see the cutting or very much detail yet it brings together several compositional elements which Barbara developed in her later work. For example, the imaginary landscape is almost oriental in the way space is compressed.

In ‘Horoscope’ we have the appearance of three things which will appear in prints throughout Barbara’s life; landscape, flowers and sheep.

This shows most of the print albeit in questionable colour. It is almost certainly a self-portrait. The combining of landscape and flowers within the figure outline and the emerging cat make this a most intriguing image. Thanks to anyone who can come up with a more accurate colour picture.

Edition of 24 620mm x 420mm

Time to show just how great a printmaker Barbara was. This is a masterpiece of linocut.

In this print there is ample evidence of her command of the medium and of the artistry which she brought to linocut. The bold composition, the luscious colour, the confidence in drawing as can be seen in the cockerel’s feet and the delicate structure of the unfolding blossom, and the tonal range. it would take 12 or more colours to produce this piece of virtuosity. It was printed in an edition of 15.