National Print Museum

Dublin Sketchers were at the National Print Museum at Beggars Bush Barracks last Sunday. It was my first time there and I had a ball! The lady who was in charge on the day was really nice. They have an amazing collection of printing presses. A good exhibition. And a nice café.

I chose to draw a Wharfedale press. Well, only a very small piece of it, actually. The machine is enormous, and I wouldn't have had anywhere I could have drawn it from to capture the whole thing. Plus I probably wouldn't have been able to fit it on the page. And I would have run out of time. It took me two hours to do this piece of it! I started with pencil to get a sense of the proportions, but then when I started working in pen, I realised I was way off and re-adjusted the drawing accordingly. When I felt I had all the detail I wanted in place, I used a water-brush to tickle the ink and create my greys.

A cup of green tea and a slice of carrot cake, and a chat with a few talented newbies, rounded off the afternoon nicely.

PS: did you know that the Irish Declaration of Independence, Easter 1916, was printed on a Wharfedale press?