Lucy May Schofield – Book artist….
Through searching for bookbinding courses I came across this artist.
She makes objects to house stories that would otherwise go untold. In creative narratives she accompany’s the viewer on a journey, often manifesting in a installation, multiple or artists book. Whilst she was learning bookbinding she discovered the pleasures of print, self publishing and communicating by means of book form.
A series of 4 newsprint pamphlets illustrate the revelation, liberation and regulation experienced in 42 days in a solitary residency in the Scottish Borders while awaiting spring, “Silence” is a letterpress and digitally printed onto vintage newsprint, hardback covered in archival handmade paper, edition of 42.
Ive since contacted the artist and she is holding 2 days bookbinding course locally to my hometown, so I have enrolled for those !
Kathryn Desforges
I have been looking at the work of this artist, and came across her in my recent research into bookworks.
Although she produces drawings and prints it is her beautiful bookworks that made me take a second look at her work.
‘A Collection of Moments ‘ is a bookwork of a series of rubbings made into drawings from around her home. Rather than simply be rubbings each is a drawing in its own right, stemming from an intuitive interaction with each surface. The drawings read from left to right and each tells a story of the moment in which it was made. The aim is for the viewer to recapture the moment in which the drawings were made following each mark and sound to culminate in a final image.
The artist talked about similar concerns that I have in my work, an interest in what the viewer sees and thinks about the work, and an importance of the time it takes to absorb the essence of what the works about. I have previously used frottage within my practice and this reminded me of the subtle variations you can achieve with it.
Birgit Skiold 1923-1982
Whilst researching for some of my printmaking I discovered the work of this Swedish artist. Not only is her work remarkable, her significance to printmaking in this Country is important. She opened one of the first open print worshops in London in 1958.
Her etchings and embossments have a tranquil feel to them, and seem extremley tactile. The prints are so delicate, created through colour and translucent medium.
Simple effects were created in challenging and complex engineering of texture and colour.
Angie Lewin – Printmaker….
I have been reading the book by Angie Lewin ‘Plants and Places’. She is a printmaker who se work is mainly about the things she sees whilst out walking in her Norfolk home or by a highland river. She looks at insignificant plants that are considered to be weeds looking at their structure and distinctive characteristics. Observation is a huge part of her work, she gets down on ground level to concentrate on small patches of earth crammed with interlocking plant forms.
Within her prints these patterns emerge, and its these repeated patterns , often contained with circular shapes that attracted me to this artist and her work.
When the scale of my work was been discussed in the studio I was asked to look at Albrecht Durer’s ‘The Large Turf’, a work of art that looks at less than a square metre of earth but is filled with plants , herbs, grasses, seed heads etc. He, like Lewin must of got down within inches of these plants to draw in such detail, even if it was done in 1503, a comparison can be made to Angie Lewins prints.
Her work is a series of processes starting with the drawing, then moving onto the different printmaking processes she uses. I especially like the colours, shapes and patterns within her prints, they warrant a closer look , seed heads begin to look interesting and her backgrounds of muted greys are contrasted with wonderful egg-yolk yellows and greens. Her view of dead plants and weeds made me want to see more of her work, they hold the symbolism of the insignificant, hardly there, to delicate to hold, themes that are present in my work.
Andrew Levitsky
The work of the Ukrainian artist Andrew Levitsky caught my eye, while I have researching printmaking. The images have such a velvety, soft line to them, but also really detailed. You cannot help but look deeper into them, the shapes he creates within his trees make them look much more than they are. He has successfully shown a wonderful range of texture within the prints, using different tools to create these.
When talking about his printmaking he explains his work is about harmony and 
producing work that will bring joy to the viewer, themes I am also interested in.
Zinc and copper etchings 31.5 x 29 cm.
Dawn Cole
This was an artists work I saw at the Print Biennale last November.
Her work is primarily in print and explores ideas of memory and recollection, time and repetition. It was these elements of her work that first attracted me to research her further.
She uses archives as a starting point for inspiration, creating thought provoking works that are, at first glance, not always what they see.
I especially liked her use of repetition. it makes her works so detailed, something I strive to bring into my own work. She has been described as’ technically proficient’ and obviosly that is an attribute in print making I would like to achieve. Simply just the fact you need to linger and stop and take a second look at her work is something quite facinating…..
‘Amputations’ 2011, Solar plate etch.
David Tindle
‘Four Seasons’, Hard ground etching 1987, 30.5 x 30.5 cm
I have been looking at the works of the printer David Tindle when I was especially researching different techniques in etching. He has created such a soft effect, the table always looks like it might be floating ! The print has such an atomosphere about it, yet the composition is so simple.
Helen Frankenthaler, Etching- ‘Message from Degas’ 18.9 x 25cm
When I have been researching composition in prints, I came across this etching of Helen Frankenthaler’s. I especially like the use of line to create contrast, the way the yellow colour creates a sense of flow across the picture, enhancing the simple but striking composition.
Fatima Ferreira
I have been looking at the work of Fatima Ferreira, whose work I saw at the International Print Biennale. This piece was a wonderful aquatint and collage measuring 70 x 200 cm.
This is called ‘Lasting Dream’ and belongs to a major project she has been developing for the last few years called ‘Permanences’, and the meanings behind her work is what attracted me to it initially. She is seeking a sense of tranquility, balance and serenity,personal experiences that have been expressed in a symbolic way.
Just the same qualities I am looking for within my own work. her meanings are easilly understood from looking at her work.
Eduardo Santiere
Scratchings on paper.
I recently discovered the work of Eduardo Santiere. I had been researching artists whose work reflected some qualities I was wanting to bring into my own work, especially when I had been talking about the quietness I was wanting to portray. This artist’s work is all about the subtle and the minimal. He creates tiny micrcosms by marking and scratching the surface of white paper.
I really admire the way his creations are all but invisible sculptural reliefs, created with a needle to scratch the surface, and of course the size of his work was my other consideration…..as some pieces are only 9 x 12 inches.
Ballpoint Abstractions by IL LEE
I have been looking at the work of the Korean born, New York based artist Il Lee. He is best known for his dynamic work using ballpoint pen on paper and canvas. Fields of vibrating forms appear out of an expanse of markings. The beauty and stunning simplicity of blue ballpoint on canvas is like looking at a giant doodle ! Some of the works are 7 x 12 ft in size. What he has accomplished with single lines, transforms inanimate everyday inks into vibrant fields of colour, with trailing edges that seem to sway through a luminous atmosphere, seemingly with no top or bottom.
Using a limited tool Lee expresses such a exquisite complexity and one i would like to include in my own work.
Helmut Kirchlechner
I have been looking at the work of the German artist Helmut Kirchlechner.
The initial concept of his work is highly simplistic, using the form of a circle repeated within his work. Like any form the circle has its restrictions, narrowing the possibility of artistic expression, Kirchlechner provides a combination of colour variety, technique and a strong visual presence that is only revealed at closer inspection and engagement with the pieces.
He uses pencil, coloured pencil and pen on handmade paper to create his work.
Claire Scully
I have been looking at the work of an artist and illustator Claire Scully.
I was especially interested in her nature drawings, ‘Bird roots 1 & 2’, so delicatley and beautifully drawn.
This is taken from her website Claire Scully
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