In a previous life I trained as a graphic designer at The University Of The Arts in London and practised in design agencies for over 30 years. However, interest in the visual arts was always much wider. Previous work in abstract landscape photography led to exhibitions in London, East Anglia and East Sussex. I have been an artist-printmaker since 2014, using the collagraph technique and process as an art form, for visual expression and experimentation.
It all started in 2013 when I attended a collagraph printmaking day at The Ropewalk Gallery, Barton-upon-Humber. The collagraph process and the magic of printmaking made an immediate impression on me. I realised that this was the medium I needed for a new artistic direction, and something that would give me much more creative freedom, compared to the inevitable restrictions of client-led design work. Since then, I have been given invaluable advice and encouragement by artist Tim Needham at The Ropewalk.
This led me to push the limitations of the collagraph technique and the physical limitations of the printing press. I have also experimented with various ways of making plates and prints, until the materials themselves and processes involved in printmaking started to become the subject matter and end result.