Trained as an art teacher and later re-trained as a computer programmer, I have
always enjoyed painting and drawing. I was introduced to the Bristol based
Spike Island Printing studio a few years ago when my young son attended
a course there. I was gripped by the atmosphere and soon started to create
my own prints. Since then I have exhibited with the North Bristol Artists
Trail, at several exhibitions at Spike Island Print Studios, had work
hung by local galleries and taken part in a print exchange with an Australian
Print Studio.
My work was accepted for the Bristol Art Show '07 at the Centrespace Gallery and for the 2007 RWA Autumn Exhibition. I was also nominated by Venue magazine as one of the 6 'emerging artists' from the RWA exhibition.
My print making is all taken from images
that inspire me. Once I’ve seen an image I like - normally an animal
or bird (and I have always been attracted to expressions on faces) - I decide
on the size of image and draw it roughly onto the lino. I then start to
cut out the image, but I don’t like to have my image too carefully
drawn at this point as the image looses ‘life’ if it doesn’t
have a certain degree of spontaneity. For me the cutting of the lino can
become quite absorbing and it is sometimes difficult to know when to stop!
Using sharp tools I carve pieces of lino to create one
or two plates which can be used to print different colours. The first plate
will usually be the colour of the background whilst the second plate usually
shows the image. The areas to be left light are where lino is cut away and
black / coloured areas are where the lino is left to be printed. The plate
is then rolled with ink and printed using thick, damp paper, which I roll
through an etching press. This gives the print an embossed finish where
the paper has been pressed into the lino. The ink only rolls onto the flat
top surface of the lino – any lino cut away doesn’t print and
so leaves the paper white. Each print is hand-printed by me and is therefore
unique – no two prints are exactly the same.
Past and Present Exhibitions: