Spanish Hornet ii, linocut (wings to be hand drawn in ink)
After almost a year without access to the print workshop, I’ve come to realise just how much I get out of the whole technical aspect of printmaking. It’s a very different form of creativity in relation to the much more instinctive activity of putting paint directly onto a surface and seeing instant results. Good or bad!
Etching in particular requires a more methodical and analytical approach to the production of every piece, which in turn forces you to slow down and think hard about each and every step of the process along the way. A painting can be done in minutes, but an etching can take weeks to get right.
I often find painting pictures to be extremely frustrating, as I do tend to work quickly and instinctively and this can sometimes result in nothing more than a deflated feeling of having wasted lots of time and materials. Somehow I never feel like that when I’m making prints, probably because it does require that level of concentration and focus that seems almost to be the opposite of how I want to work with paint.
But to be able to switch between these two seemingly opposing methods of creativity (even if the end result can look quite similar) is something that helps keeps me constantly motivated and inspired. Each can inform the other approach but also provides an opportunity to think and work with a fresh impetus.
The above prints were the result of my first day back at Dunfermline’s printmaking workshop in over 6 months. I have to say it was the most enjoyable day of work I’ve had all year!
Blue Moon etching is available to buy from Frames Gallery, Perth.