'An Inkling' was my entry in a recent competition - the theme ‘INKtober’ - sad to say it wasn't selected. However I've now minted it and will order a poster for my home as for some reason only known to me perhaps I'm very attached to it. Over 50 years of entering competitions I've become immune to the results whatever they may be - remaining unaffected is the only way for me to keep working. I've had a handful of successes - in my early days when my work was created by physical means.
The following description accompanied my submission:
''An Inkling' - 231005' is a digitally created abstract artwork. I used Adobe Illustrator for the design and Adobe Photoshop for some desired effects not achievable in Illustrator. Perhaps this work has become a homage to Ink because the theme ‘Inktober’ inspired me to reflect on the use of ink as a medium for creating art and printmaking. My submission is a montage of elements which reference my own experiences and observations over the past 50 years of creating art - 25 years by physical means then, since c 1996, by digital. The work could be described as autobiographical. A photo taken of an ink spattered paper I prepared in the past with an additional layer with patterning suggesting Dot Matrix provide the background to the work. A smaller grid with a bitmap patterning links the this to the main content. I’ve used triangular shapes – symbolic of paper – to show various uses of ink, such as ink blots, ink wash, ink droplets, and pen drawing. The pyramidal shape partly concealed behind these triangular elements reveals a self-portrait from 1978 - a contour drawing in pen and ink, which I drew for a graduation catalogue. In the foreground a random scrawl flows into a controlled spiral and then to the point of the nib of the pen representing technical drawing. The engraved steel pen dominates the composition, poised over the other elements, the ultimate vehicle for ink. "
