artists

CMYK OK!

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There are many ways to replicate an image in print, and one of them is to screen print using CMYK colours. So what are CMYK colours and how do artists use them to print their artwork?

CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key. Key usually being the black layer that is used to align the other colours. These four colours are layered and used in combination with halftoning to create an almost infinite number of colours. It starts with separating the cyan, magenta, yellow and black colours from the image and creating new separate images with each of these individual colour values. A halftone is created from these single colour images which means turning the image into tiny dots.

Sunrise by Gavin Dobson

These tiny dots are printed at different sizes depending on how dense that particular colour is in an area of the image. For example an area printed with small cyan dots would appear as pale cyan and larger dots would be a darker cyan. This is because there would be more or less of the white space of the paper showing between the different sized dots. As the dots are so small your eye reads them as one colour when looked at from a distance. To create multiple colours cyan, magenta, yellow and black are combined together at various densities to give the illusion of one colour. On a very basic level an equal sized yellow dot overlaid with a cyan dot would give you green. Changing the size of these dots would give you a pale yellowy green or a darker blue green. With the addition of magenta and black you can create all sorts of colours.

If you look closely at Ponds and Plants by Ashley Amery for example, you can see the small dots that make up the image. It’s easy to see in newspaper imagery where the dots are bigger you get a crude image, and where they are smaller a finer image can be created. Each dot is overlaid at a particular angle so as not to create a uniform pattern that the eye would recognise. If you look closely you can see a rosette pattern of the overlaid dots which is characterful of halftone printing. If the dots are not lined up correctly or are larger, a moiré or interference pattern appears which can cause the image to look blurry.

Below is a selection of artworks that use CMYK separation and halftone printing to recreate the imagery. Some are more obvious but some need a closer look.

Penguin by Gavin Dobson

Screen print on Fabriano paper 310gsm with a deckle edge.

500mm x 700mm

Signed limited edition of 100

Ponds And Plants by Ashley Amery

Screen print on 350gsm GF Smith Colorplan paper

490mm x 550mm

Signed limited edition of 50

Morning Star by Fiftyseven

Screen print on 330gsm GF Smith paper

297mm x 420mm (A3)

Signed limited edition of 100

Sunrise by Gavin Dobson

Screen print

500mm x 700mm

Signed limited edition of 100

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Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner…

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London, The Big Smoke! Love it or hate it our capital inspires so many of our artists. From its architecture and people, to all its different boroughs – London is huge! This city of 9 million people has something for everyone. So with this post we have highlighted a few artists that look at different aspects of the city. These London themed prints make great gifts for those that live here and also as memories for those who have moved away.

Marc Gooderham

Marc Gooderham is fascinated by shop fronts, street corners and a forgotten London. His pastel works and paintings presented as series of limited edition prints explore the city’s streets along with its decaying and unique architecture. They capture the singular beauty to be found in those neglected and overlooked spaces.

Liam Devereux

Liam Devereux is a commercial illustrator, originally from the north of England and now based in London. He has created work for American Express, Lloyds Bank and Audi among others, whilst developing a unique style in his spare time. The Nighttime Series comprises of scenes largely around North London where he has lived for the last ten years, but has begun to spread further afield.

Mike Hall

Mike’s drawings are produced digitally using a combination of design software and a pen tablet. The designs for the maps were inspired by engraved prints from the 19th century that Mike has appropriated with a contemporary twist.

Will Clarke

Will Clarke meticulously develops intricate landscapes and views of Britain’s cities and most loved locations. Will’s work primarily focuses on location and place, which he explores through a range of mediums including printmaking, architectural drawing and design. He characteristically uses bold graphic additions of colour to add different dimensions to his illustrations.

Jane Smith

Jane Smith is a freelance artist and commercial illustrator based in Dalston, East London, working in design, advertising, editorial, publishing and charities. Often inspired by travel and cityscapes, her personal work crosses over media and disciplines, from to digital sketches and drawings, to wood engraving and linocut.

Underway Studio

Underway Studio is an illustration and printmaking collective based in Brixton, South London. Founded in 2015 by six graduates as a space to continue working and developing as young designers, the collective works collaboratively across silk-screen, lino and digital print mediums. The current members of Underway Studio are: Aiden Barefoot, Anna Schmidt, Caitlin Parks, and Melissa North.

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Just A Card

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We have been hearing and listening and watching the Just A Card campaign that has been moving around and making some noise recently. The idea behind the campaign is to bring awareness to how much even the smallest purchases, like a card, can make a huge difference to small businesses.

We have been thinking about how this fits into what’s happening at Of Cabbages and Kings. The shop has been in business for 7 years now. We’re lucky as enough people came and bought just a card to support us and help us grow through some extremely difficult times. Those cards add up to something more significant and we’d like to say a big thanks to those Stokey locals who kept coming back and buying ‘just a card’ over the years. While we’re now past the point where the purchase of a card can make a big difference in the daily or weekly takings, we do remember those days.

However, Of Cabbages and Kings does not exist in isolation. The truth is that selling ‘just a card’ is still important to our business, because it makes a big difference to the artists and makers who’s work we carry. Cards help spread a name, a brand, an idea or aesthetic and it is often the selling cards that allows the artist create their individual paintings, prints and illustrations. The cards that we sell are often miniature versions of bigger pieces of artwork, as in the case with Mister Peebles, who produces their illustrations in many sizes, from cards up to A3. For other brands like Mardy Mabel with her pithy text, cards are created as unique pieces and form the backbone of the business.

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Mardy-Sex

We support the Just A Card campaign because it supports artists, makers and independent businesses that make up the Of Cabbages and Kings shop, community, friends and customers.

Join the conversation using hashtag #Justacard

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