I make relief prints, using lino or woodcuts, capturing moments in life. I use collage to tell stories and illustrate the words we say!
“A print is a left over moment”
I live on Exmoor
I live on Exmoor with my family, including the dog.
I have a small den for drawing and cutting in but all printing is done by hand on our large kitchen table. Prints dry on washing lines across the kitchen and feedback is provided by anyone coming into the kitchen!
I am largely self taught as a printmaker but have drawn pictures and kept sketch books on and off all my life.
Colours fascinate me
My lovely Caran D'ache pencils in childhood led to endless drawings mainly of dragons and other images triggered by reading stories.
Now I keep my hand in by life drawing but the ideas for prints come from people or scenes I see and conversations I hear or books I read.
Inspiration comes from walking by the sea or on the Moors which frees me from everything I need to do and allows me to re- examine words or pictures in my head.
It's time, then, to find somewhere for a coffee to get drawing.
My Practice
My practice will move from an idea in my head which I take out with me when I walk the dog or driving the kids about, to a roughly drawn plan.
Often I then make a collage using odd scraps of printed material which helps me to develop the colours and composition before starting to carve the print.
I mainly use relief processes like lino or woodcut, but I’m now starting to explore drypoint and collagraphs. I enjoy mixing my own colours, pushing to get the most from the print in terms of colours and transparency when needed, experimenting with layers of colour. I think it’s a mix of problem solving and experimentation with a touch of intuition!
