As a printmaker, all my images start life in my sketch book and are then drawn to full scale, reversed and transferred to lino or wood plates.  Most of my images are made up of three or more plates, each plate holding a different colour ink.  All of these plates are then individually inked up by hand.  This ink is then transferred on to a single sheet of paper by printing each plate one at a time creating the layers of colour that make up the final image.  This I do on an old manual etching press in my studio.  The inks and cleaning agents used in printing my images are environmentally friendly.

 

‘Filling the Void’ is a new series of works created as a direct response to the unexpected social lockdowns of 2020/21.  I decided at the being of the lockdowns that I would make this time productive so that I could look back on it with some positivity.

Filling the Void is a pictorial interpretation of the slowing down of life during lockdown where travelling to work, shopping and visiting people were replaced by alternative daily commitments of a morning walk around the park, tending the allotment, working from home and learning to play the melodeon.  Having had this unexpected period of time to reflect on my life, I have realised the importance of my faith and our guardianship of this beautiful planet.

These images show empty shapes being filled by new interests that initiate consequential interactions with the surrounding environment.

 

‘Guardians’ is another new series of works that run in parallel to ‘Filling the Void’.

These images depict our lack of commitment to the guardianship of planet earth and my concern at the prevailing sense of personal entitlement to have and do whatever we want with little or no regard to the environmental consequences.

The fish, pangolin, turtles, lizards and egrets in my images represent some of the creatures that would benefit from the positive change we could make by using our buying power to reduce packaging, promote animal welfare and move the world economy away from continual growth and towards long term sustainability.  The wooden houses on ever lengthening stilts echo the race against rising sea levels.