WANT AN INSIGHT INTO MY WORK PROCESS THAT LIES BEHIND THE MAKING OF MY PRINTS? It is longer than you think. There are various stages:

Thinking time

Sometimes many months, while I mull over an idea. I’m often woken in the middle of the night thinking about a new idea. Sometimes I’ll make thumbnail sketches.

Plate making

Once an idea is (part) cooked, I make a plate choosing materials that I hope will allow me to realise the image in my head.

A Proof print

This is when I use ink for the first time, just one colour. This print will tell me how the textures on the plate will print. I will make adjustments to the plate and the way I ink it up in full colour based on this print.

This is when I use ink for the first time, just one colour. This print will tell me how the textures on the plate will print. I will make adjustments to the plate and the way I ink it up in full colour based on this print.

Printing for real!

I choose my colour palette, apply them to the plate with brushes and pieces of card, try different inking techniques and make several prints. The majority of them will, in all likelihood, not be saleable unless I’m very lucky because it is a process of getting to know the intricacies of the plate.

FINALLY, a good print emerges

From there on in, subsequent prints will (usually) be equally successful – the best bit though, is the element of serendipity.

It’s a voyage of discovery, even with plates I’ve not printed for some time.

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