Deborah Vass

I have always loved looking at other’s sketchbooks. One of my earliest art memories is seeing a page of Samuel Palmer’s sketchbook in my loc

Moths are the perfect, obliging models, who sleep during the day.  I take two or three into my studio to identify and draw, where they remai

My sketches and early drawing of my Woodcock print Early in December, on a cold and dreary afternoon, I left my studio to retreat to the warmth of the house for a few minutes to clean up my printmaking tools. On my return, I suddenly stopped at my door. There, on the ground, lay the remains of a woodcock. I can't have been gone more than five minutes and yet there it rested at my feet, completely stripped bare, but with its head and beautiful wings completely intact. I was ov

On a day when we remember those who gave so much, a poem by Edward Thomas who was killed in action on the 9th April, 1917, by a shell blast in the first hour of the Battle of Arras. This is not a war poem, but a poem of remembrance by the poet who speaks to me most. I grow Artemisia, or Lad's Love, by my back door in his memory and shall "pluck a feather" for him today. OLD MAN by EDWARD THOMAS Old Man, or Lad's-love,---in the name there's nothing To one that knows not Lad

The following article appeared on Painters Online, the online edition of "The Artist" magazine and thought it might be useful for someone wishing to dip their toes into the wonderful world of lino, or perhaps would like to see how my linocuts are made. Do please contact me if you have any questions and I will happily help. The "Cormorant" is available in my Etsy shop. https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/552927700/cormorant?ref=shop_home_active_5 Materials: 3.2mm grey, hessian bac

To know fully even one field or one land is a lifetime's experience. In the world of poetic experience it is depth that counts, not width. Patrick Kavanagh* Lately I have been mulling over how I would like to keep a more complete record of the plants and creatures that I see in my garden, and in the local fens and wood land, as the months go by. While my sketchbooks note some of what I see: the moths that appear in my trap, the wildflowers, birds and insects, there is so much

I might appear that I have been a little tardy with blog posts over the summer, but the truth is I have found writing rather difficult. In early summer I began experiencing problems using my right hand. Both hands felt a little stiff and unyielding, but the right was worse and gripping my lino tools became very uncomfortable. I put it down to possible RSI and, thinking rest would help, I put my printmaking aside to move to painting again. Holding brushes was easier, particula

The happy discovery of a tawny owl family in my garden, made me long to have the opportunity to observe owls more closely, but I was very conscious that my intrusion might prompt them to move on, and I didn’t want to risk that. I wanted to make a print of a Tawny Owl, but I find it difficult using only photographs for reference. I need to make drawings, take my own pictures that focus on my interest and viewpoint and, most importantly, observe their behaviour. As nocturnal bi

Those of you who follow me on Instagram and Twitter will know that I am rather partial to moths. The hot, still summer days of the past few weeks has meant there has been an abundance of moths in my garden and each day I have been drawing my new discoveries. You can see the results on my sketchbook pages on my website. I am delighted that this article has appeared in the Summer edition of The Suffolk Argus, the magazine of the Butterfly Conservation Charity.http://www.suffolk

To see a World in a Grain of Sand, And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand, And Eternity in an hour. Winter is often a time when we are confined: we shrink from the cold and retreat indoors, watching the world of nature through our windows. As a long winter slips into a late spring, my usual venturing forth has been curtailed. For many weeks the scope of my world has been limited by a recurrent back problem and, while I won’t say I haven’t cursed

I am thrilled that my linocut print of a grey heron, "River Man", will be exhibited at the Mall Galleries in London with The Royal Society of British Artists from the 21st - 31st March. https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/royal-society-british-artists-annual-exhibition-2018/river-man #heron #linolinoprint #linocut #printmaker #river #waterbirds #blackandwhite #Britishbirds #nature #wildlife