Ib Geertsen

Ib Geertsen created art that "was what it was", wonderfully vibrant and playful abstracts that contained no message other than the pure aesthetic. Geertsen's work was unknown to me until his death a couple of weeks ago, and I would love to have had the opportunity to see the exhibition at the Rocket Gallery (another marvellous recent find). A painter, printer, sculpture and, rather wonderfully, a designer of children's play areas. It seems that Ib Geertsen also planned his work by cutting out and arranging pieces of paper, so I am in good company. Anyhow, check out the Rocket Galleries exhibition pages for his work. Fab.

Accidental image

Most of my abstract linocuts are conceived using collaged paper before they take shape as prints. Coloured paper shapes are repeatedly arranged over time until an image takes shape that I am happy with. The only problem with this technique is that it can lead to images that are too rigid or stylized. The image on the left started out in the same way. However, after arranging all the collaged paper I accidentally knocked the paper they were resting on and the whole image was knocked to one side (see right), resulting in the pieces overlapping. After my initial cursing I saw that the resulting image was stronger than the original and used this instead as the template for the print.