About Me

Training

In the late 1970’s, I trained as an artist, primarily as a potter at Roehampton University in London. Whilst teaching ceramics, I developed an interest in printmaking. Some years later, I studied it at Morley College in London. I consider the excitement of opening the kiln door to be a similar experience to peeling back the press blankets to reveal a new print. Both can be equally thrilling.

Achievements

I was elected as an Associate Member of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers in January 2008. In 2011, I became a full member (RE). I regularly show work at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. My work is held in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, The University of Aberystwyth print collection, the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and the Parliamentary Art Collection.

Approach

My 3 plate colour etchings are primarily concerned with exploring the landscape or cityscape. I make visual sense of the scene before me by finding natural patterns and rhythms within it. I describe the colour, using my own interpretation. Using a combination of warm and cool colours, I  create visual depth. Intense colour helps in representing mood, light and space. Within the finished work, I hope to create an atmospheric and individual response.

Etching process

I begin by making sketches of the landscape, mostly from life, and usually in pastels. I then simplify the shapes and explore the patterns until I am satisfied that the image can be developed into a print. I often use three zinc plates (one per colour) to make the finished etching. The technique I use is called ‘intaglio’, meaning below the surface of the metal. The ink is trapped in the etched area and the uncut part remains white.

Starting with the plate for the darkest colour, and using a method known as ‘sugar lift’, I paint directly on the plate with a sugar solution. I then pour varnish over the whole plate, wait for it to dry and immerse it in hot water, where the sugar dissolves and ‘lifts off’ to reveal the image as exposed areas of zinc.

Next, the plate goes into a bath of nitric acid, where the exposed metal is etched away to create the first part of the image. I then add tone or texture known as ‘aquatint’, where the exposed areas are sprinkled with a fine layer of rosin dust, and the plate is put back in the acid. The dust particles resist the bite of the acid, producing a range of tones as a series of tiny dots. The plates for the other colours follow the same procedure.

When I have made all three plates, the exciting stage of printing can begin. Each plate is inked-up with a different colour and passed through the press to transfer the ink to the dampened paper; building-up the final image in a series of overlapping layers. This is where I see the complete image for the very first time. Before this, it had only ever existed in my head.

Using 3 metal plates for each print is labour intensive, technically difficult, and requires a great deal of foresight. But for me, there is no other way to achieve the exciting hues and colour combinations I’m looking for.

Colour is to me the most thrilling element of the printmaking process. It has remained my passion from my early days of making a print.