Edward Bawden - 6 London Markets

When researching I came across a series by Edward Bawden entitled ‘6 London Markets’, a series he was commissioned to make in 1967.

Bawden created lino cuts of 6 Victorian London markets which were then printed using Lithograph. I am going to focus on the lino cut stage of these illustrations - something that has fascinated me for a long time but which I have never experimented with.

So from my previous post you will see that my lino cut kit has arrived and now I am just waiting on some more lino to carry on practicing my cutting and inking.

In the meantime I have decided to look back through my old photographs for a small series I did on Londons Greenwich Market back in 2011. Whilst originally built pre-Victorian, it was rebuilt in the late 1800's so kinda counts.

Here is a short list of potential image references for me to choose from and to start sketching.

This is my favourite of Bawdens images showcasing Borough market. Intricately detailed, beautifully coloured and full of life - you can feel the hustle and bustle of the market as the traders go about their business.

For me I think I will have to create a hybrid of my images to give me something in the vain of Bawden. I want to include the physical building structure, mostly this will be the Greenwich roof section, the vibrant colours of the textiles and the physical presence of a trader. If I can figure out those three elements, I think I will have a somewhat successful image. I will create mock ups in both my sketch book and on Procreate on iPad. From there I will try and figure out how to create a semblance using 2 - 3 colours in lino-cut.