Techniques
I think of myself as an artist printmaker, and work almost exclusively in print media.
Printmaking describes a set of artistic techniques in which an images is created first on a surface, and then transferred to paper, fabric or another material to create the final artwork. In most printmaking techniques, multiple images can be pulled from the same surface. Although prints are usually not unique, they are considered handmade original works of art. Printmaking is incredibly important historically, being represented among the oldest cave artworks surviving from the neolithic period, as well as being important industrially and crucial to the mass distribution of imagery prior to the invention of digital media. Unless you are looking at a digital screen, the images you are viewing throughout your day are almost exclusively prints! Find out more about printmaking in Jennifer Roberts’ recorded lectures for the American National Gallery of Art.
Relief printing: working with wood
Woodcut printmaking is a form of relief printing, in which I use specialist knives and woodcarving tools to carve and shape a block of wood (usually solid magnolia or Shina/linden plywood). Much like a potato print, the uncarved area of the wood left behind will print the coloured areas of the final image. There are different ways to print the final image. Mokuhanga is a form of relief printing originating in China that uses water-based pigments. It is often also referred to as Japanese woodblock printmaking, as it was popularised in its most widely recognisable form in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868). In the European tradition, woodblocks are traditionally printed using oil-based inks, having had their first peak in popularity in Europe during the Middle Ages.
I print my woodcut prints using watercolour paints and oil-based inks made from condensed linseed oil and natural plant and earth pigments that I purchase, grow or forage myself, as well as a limited number of low toxicity modern pigments when I cannot source suitable alternatives.
The final image is built up by printing multiple layers over each other, with each colour being the result of a single printed layer. Most often, I work in reduction woodcut, which means that once I print a layer, I carve the next layer of the image directly into the same wooden surface. This means that I cannot go back to alter or reprint the final image, and my woodcut prints are therefore all printed as small, limited editions. When working in mokuhanga, I usually work using multiblock printmaking in which each colour layer derives from its own individual carved block. This means that I am able to go back and reprint the same image once I sell all the prints in an edition. Do get in touch if a print you’re interested in is sold out and I will consider printing more. I often combine my woodcut prints with mokulito (wood-based lithography) and collage. Find out more about the woodcut printmaking and mokuhanga processes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art website and Adrian Holmes’ website.
Lithography: the magic of oil and water
Lithography is based on the principle that oil and water do not mix. Different surfaces can be used to create the image. In stone lithography, an image is created by drawing on the surface of a limestone using greasy pigments and inks, with most litho stones originating from especially fine limestone deposits in Bavaria. Mokulito is a lithographic process developed by Ozaku Seishi in 1970’s Japan, using a wooden surface instead of stone. The greasy marks are chemically processed to fix them into the stone or wood using natural gum arabic, allowing multiple prints to be pulled from the same surface. During the printing process, the stone or plywood is kept damp and oil-based inks that accumulate only over the drawn oily grease marks are used to print the image. The final image is built up by printing multiple layers over each other, with each colour being the result of a single printed layer. To create the next colour layer when working in stone lithography, the previous image must be physically ground to remove it from the limestone surface. This means that I cannot go back to alter or reprint the final image. Meanwhile, the drawn mokulito image is quite unstable and degrades rapidly. Therefore, all my lithographic images are printed as small, limited editions.
One of the joys of stone lithography is that each limestone is unique, bearing veins and inconsistencies as well as chips and scratches introduced while handling the stone. Bringing out the unique and changing nature of the stone is an integral part of my creative process. On the other hand, I love mokulito for the wood texture it brings to the fore, for its non-toxic nature and because it can be easily combined with relief printing if I carve directly into the same woodblock. I often combine mokulito with woodcut and collage.
Explore my mokulito and stone lithography prints. You can also find out more about how lithographs are made at the Metropolitan Museum of Art website.