Holly Magdalene Scott - Printmaker

Holly Magdalene Scott - Printmaker Hand-coloured hand-printed original Linocuts Holly Magdalene Scott is a printmaker based in Barnard Castle.

She creates hand-printed hand-painted original linocut prints inspired by the rich wildlife of Teesdale, Co Durham.

I haven't been very good at updating social media lately (and Facebook nagging insistence to post has created a sort of ...
17/07/2024

I haven't been very good at updating social media lately (and Facebook nagging insistence to post has created a sort of demand avoidance in my pathologically defiant self !) So thought I'd update y'all with the fleecy delight that has been my focus of late.
This, my distinguished friends, is Doyle ❤️🐑

If you are in the South West, check out Delamore Arts 🎨 I'm really pleased to be part of the Contemporary British Printm...
09/05/2024

If you are in the South West, check out Delamore Arts 🎨 I'm really pleased to be part of the Contemporary British Printmakers 2024 exhibition through out May 😀 Curated by Artizan Collective, the exhibition brings together 22 printmakers from across the UK, showcasing 80 original works and exploring 11 techniques. I'd love to go if I wasn't 387 miles away in the wilds of Cumbria!

21/04/2024

It would be rude not to reveal a sneak peak of some Curlew studies I am working on, with it being World Curlew Day and all.....

In my previous post I expressed how lucky I am to live in a marginal upland area and see Curlews everyday. Sadly this beautiful soul affirming occurrence is not experienced by many. I am so fortunate to be here, on the edge of this rough moorland pasture- the summer stronghold and indeed last bastion of the Curlew- as changes in how the countryside is managed have caused curlew numbers to decline dramatically over the past 40 years.

Once a common sight, the Eurasian Curlew, (Numenius arquata ) are now considered to be “vulnerable” on the European red list, meaning that the species faces a high risk of extinction.

Due to habitat loss caused by intensive farming practices, drainage of wetlands and change of land use (for forestry), Curlew numbers have decreased by over 90% in Ireland, 80% in Wales and on average 60% have been lost throughout England and Scotland since the 1980s.

This shocking decline has occurred perceptibly in my life time, and I really hope breeding populations can be protected - what a sad world the next generation would inherit without the quintessential rural experience of hearing a Curlew's plaintive call over moorland on a summer's day.

Fingers crossed the Curlews nest in our 'useless' boggy field !!!

As per usual, I have done a lot of quiet wandering, observing, and thinking. I have enjoyed a few changes of scenery of ...
19/04/2024

As per usual, I have done a lot of quiet wandering, observing, and thinking. I have enjoyed a few changes of scenery of late, but not felt the inclination to tell people about it via social media....

As I'm sure many other creatives do, I really struggle with the weight of social media and its oversized presence in modern life. I have been toying with the idea of deactivating it entirely, but this would likely not be advantageous business wise.

I must get better at updates and documentation of works in progress (even though I would genuinely be happier totally off grid)... and having a slightly more modern and functioning phone now should help! My previous antiquated device look a tumble into an Epsom salt bath and did not survive it's experience...but I endeavour to share documentation of what I have been engaged in, for my small but trusty band of interested parties.

Here are some curlews I have been watching from the kitchen window, shrouded by the near permanent altitudinous gloom of the North Pennines!

I'm hoping this pair nest, as I have seen them together on the ridge engaging in nesting behaviours such as pulling grass. Hopefully, the rough damp, undisturbed pasture should be perfect for them 😊

Slow to the party as per usual, but here is my pre preview beret selfie as proof of life in social media land, and work ...
27/03/2024

Slow to the party as per usual, but here is my pre preview beret selfie as proof of life in social media land, and work at the opening of the exhibition at in Penrith.Some of my test prints and preparatory studies are displayed too , along side a plethora of northern talent 😊

It was all a bit blink and you'll miss it, but the eagle eyed may have spied my work in the background on ITV news catch up! This print is the last one in the edition, and I have no plans to make any more as I'm feeling strongly that I want to make a new body of work and take a new direction. It is of course for sale 😊

The touring exhibition will soon be on it's merry way to it's next port of call in Newcastle I believe..maybe me and my beret will see you there for the preview!

Part 2 of 'it's not all quick wins'/ many a rock has been bumped on the journeyI find a large chunk of being a professio...
24/03/2024

Part 2 of 'it's not all quick wins'/ many a rock has been bumped on the journey

I find a large chunk of being a professional artist is really quite non creative. Often as artists I think we can become tired of looking at our own work and cease to see the value in it as our own enjoyment of it diminishes.....Familiarity does indeed breed contempt…

Although initially I felt something approaching being pleased with this piece, (Successful rendering/communication of that isolated moment of beauty when you see/hear lapwings in a huge clear sky) I have definitely been guilty of harbouring negativity towards this particular print of the varied edition.

Whilst the others flew, I had begun to think this one was cursed- it was spoken for but never collected, it was lost by a courier and eventually when delivered (via the most ridiculous wild goose chase around London) was too late to hang in a prestigious show. So I thought instead of crying 'oh cruel fate ', I would send it to another exhibition...only for it to arrive damaged at the gallery 😪. I was quoted a frankly silly amount by a framer to fix it, when sadly it was beyond repair anyway. This resulted in me speedily framing another print from the edition and my partner delivering it directly to the hands of the curator himself. I am so pleased the replacement sold immediately, but I still have the cursed original …

The paper has been grazed by shards of broken glass, but the print remains intact. I might reframe it and stick on my wall at home as testament to perseverance...but if anyone should want to give the ill fated lapwings a new home for a discounted fee then I may be persuaded to part with it 😉

Hit me up people 🤣

Part 1 I am very lucky to live where I do, perched on a blustery moorland edge.... It isn't for everyone, but most days ...
24/03/2024

Part 1

I am very lucky to live where I do, perched on a blustery moorland edge.... It isn't for everyone, but most days whilst attending to boring chores like washing the dishes, I see cruising ravens, soaring skylarks and hovering kestrels from the vantage point of our kitchen window.

However, it is the return of the Lapwings that buoys my spirits the most. I always feel oriented by their presence- the gloom is lifting, the nights are getting lighter- it IS spring because the lapwings are back, twisting, barrelling and plunging in the sky.

It is a joy to see flocks of them- flickering black and white as they ripple and billow over our field, filling the air with their ‘eternal wail’ as WR Calvert put it.

Seeing my first lapwing of the year made me feel a sense of optimism, and I had a good feeling about this coinciding with my lapwing print being exhibited at Mall Galleries in the Royal Society of British Artists exhibition. A good omen in the face of the preceding f**k-ppery! 🤣 I am pleased it sold on the opening night of the exhibition , but it's not all quick wins paraded on social media like the art world appears…

Not being a money/material goods motivated type of person, it really is the small things in life that make me happy- a ...
20/03/2024

Not being a money/material goods motivated type of person, it really is the small things in life that make me happy- a chat with a friendly horse, a purring cat, a bit of crochet, watching birds soar over moorland, or a quiet pint- preferably in a pub with a fire and several snoozing hounds...

Apparently it is International Day of Happiness...so I felt it appropriate to share this random friendly horse (who I call Patches O' Houlihan- real name tbc) who makes me happy every time we cross paths. I hope something has made you happy today.

Yes, this is a photo of a horse rather than my actual art work which I probably should be 'pushing' on social media 🤣

Can you spot my piece in the Royal Society of British Artists exhibition?
06/03/2024

Can you spot my piece in the Royal Society of British Artists exhibition?

Chiaroscuro - Man and CatFor a good while I stopped posting photos of everyday life on social media, and began just amas...
04/03/2024

Chiaroscuro - Man and Cat

For a good while I stopped posting photos of everyday life on social media, and began just amassing them for myself, adding them to the vast unseen archive of photos I take everyday. On reflection, I feel this was a mistake. How we view the world as individuals is something that is definitely worth sharing, and something that deeply interests me.

I'm not a techie or a gear freak, but photography is a huge part of my artistic process.
I look slowly. I notice things, I notice light. I constantly take pictures in my mind, and occasionally I have a camera to hand to record them.

My interest in light feeds directly into my thinking for my printmaking. One of the skills I try to teach people on my courses is how to distill an image into light and dark, in order to plan the composition most effectively.

So here is Wilma, our tortoiseshell queen, and her favourite human bathed in rare sunlight- a little glimpse into the way I see.

The second day of spring in the North Pennines
02/03/2024

The second day of spring in the North Pennines

One has not one, but two exhibitions opening in Londinium this week...Sadly I won't be attending either of the previews ...
29/02/2024

One has not one, but two exhibitions opening in Londinium this week...

Sadly I won't be attending either of the previews due to living in the deep rural northern wastes!
Transport links aren't exactly swift round these parts, making zooming back and forth to the other end of the country a fair ol' undertaking !
Rather than swigging champers in a posh frock, I have been mostly wearing wellies and waterproofs and stomping about the windblasted moors... but I'm there in spirit!

The Newlight Prize Exhibition is open until Sunday 4th March.

The Annual Exhibition 2024 is open 29th Feb- 9th March 10-5pm

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Barnard Castle

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