'Goodnight', Sycamore Gap, Hadrian's Wall, Northumberland

Charity Print - £10 from each print will be donated, £5 to the Woodland Trust and £5 to Mind

Second edition - grey

Who would have known that only a few months after meeeting this sentinel tree it would be felled in an act of vandalism? It was late May when we attended a friends' wedding in Northumberland, a stone's throw away from the famous Roman Hadrian's Wall. Being so far North, the evenings were light and the sky was glowing until after 11pm, and we decided to take a nighttime walk to Sycamore Gap (I have added a photo of that evening). No-one knows who had planted the sycamore in this 'nick' (valley) of the great Whin Sill ridge, but it stood sentinel over the ancient wall for over 300 years. It also featured in Kevin Costner's 'Robin Hood Prince of Thieves' film. The first edition of this print was born from a magical night of vast glowing skies, ancient stones and the sound of curlews and nightingales as we walked along the ridge to this tree, with no other soul about. Little did I know that a second edition would be needed, this time in far darker colours, to say goodnight to this magnificent tree.

- original multiblock linocut print

- colour: grey (Hawthorn traditional stay-open printmaker ink, oil-based)

- paper: Fabriano Unica 250gsm soft white printmaking paper, natural grain, 50% cotton content, cut or torn edge

- print size: approx 4 x 4 inches (10 x 10 cm)

- mounted in bright white for a 6 x 6 inch frame (15 x 15 cm)

- signed and numbered. Unframed.

- This is a variable limited edition of 34. This print features a gradient roll and deliberately light inking to create texture in the sky, it is therefore impossible to recreate each print exactly. You'll notice considerable variation of the sky in the photos.  Each print is will be very similar to the others but also unique in the way the gradient falls. Some feature a much darker sky than others and I will select your print at random.