Etchings

The metal plate is covered with a ground, through which an image can be drawn. The plate is put in acid, which is bitten into wherever the ground has been removed. I usually use a soft ground, which never hardens when dry, so that a variety of textures may be pressed into it to expose the metal and this lends itself to a free way of working. Areas of tone can be created using Aquatint or a roulette wheel. In Aquatint the acid bites in between tiny droplets of rosin producing a tonal affect which deepens according to how long the plate is left in the acid. The indentations in the plate hold the ink while the surface is wiped clean. The etched areas and lines print when dampened paper is placed on the plate and both are run through the etching press, with enough pressure to force the paper into the lines.

Collagraphs

A collagraph is a print from a textured surface of one or more materials applied on to a base, such as cardboard. My way of working is to apply gesso to the cardboard plate allowing the texture of the brushstrokes to show, and drawing in to the gesso while it still wet. I sometimes embed scrim into the gesso to create further texture. The plate is then inked in the same way as an etching, leaving the recessions and indentations to hold the ink and therefore print when run through the press with dampened paper.

I never produce large print runs. My painterly approach to printmaking means that the plate is inked up slightly differently every time; thus I don’t give the prints an edition number but mark them A/P (Artists Proof).

Monoprints

The monoprint is a unique image and cannot be duplicated, nor can an edition be made as in other printing mediums. An image is made on a non-absorbent surface. I use the back of an old etching plate or plastic sheet which can go through the press. I brush ink on and wipe through to create light areas. This allows a free and spontaneous way of working and is more akin to painting except that the plate is run through a press.

Paintings

I build up the surface of the canvas or paper with gesso to create texture and to act as a unifying factor. I sometimes use glazes of paint to allow the light and texture below to show through. In some of the paintings, for example ‘Reclining Nude’, and ‘Southwark Bridge’, I have incorporated collage of scrim, paper and canvas onto the surface. At other times I use the oil paint thickly to unify the various elements.