The Cloisters and A Lot Of Hot Air!

        THE CLOISTERS, Gloucester Cathedral, England     John Simlett
Pen & Ink on Cartridge Paper    
21.5 inches x 15.5 inches
(550 mm  x 400 mm)

I finally got over to the printers in Sheffield to collect images of The Cloisters at Gloucester Cathedral. It's an awful 40 mile round trip into a busy city, so I only go if I'm taking new art work over.  I took my latest drawing  - which you haven't seen - it's of an old aircraft

 You will have to click on the above image to get a better effect. Even so, it is, as you can see, a big picture by pen & ink standards (15.5 inches x 21.5 inches). The size is important because the light flooding in from the left seems to increase and brighten as the picture size is increased.

Most customers don't want a picture that big, so besides full sized prints, I have produced two smaller sizes.

                                         10 inches x 14.5 inches

                                        7.5 inches x  10 inches

I spoke at length to the Printer concerning the packaging and shipping  of prints. He suggests that I mail prints without mounting them first. Simply roll them in brown-paper and send them in a tube. Now this brings prices right down as the customer doesn't pay for the mat and the backing board and a tube is cheaper than a large flat parcel, how much cheaper I'm not sure. Big re-pricing exercise in the next few days. 

I shall continue to sell them Mounted, Backed & Bagged at shows, where I actually hand them to the client.

I would like to thank  Zephyrinus over on

 http://zephyrinus-zephyrinus.blogspot.co.uk/

for his help in the research of The Cloisters, his very devote blog is full of the most breathtaking images.

Some of you will know that I am writing a self-illustrated biography of Vincenzo Lunardi and James Tytler the first people to fly in Britain. In the 1980's I was commissioned by a London Museum to design the Philatelic First Day Covers for the bi-centenary of flight, :

I got so interested in the year long project that I began to research the notion of a book.  Anyway, I've decided to kill two birds with one stone  fly two kites balloons at the same time.

 In short, I'm beginning a series of balloon scenes to sell as prints, and with which to populate the biography ... that's the plan ... but life is so full of so many fun plans that I shall continue to fly between them like an escaped balloon!  ... the bad news is I shall be using colour albeit still ink!