Frequently Asked Questions

I fell in love with printmaking when I was introduced to it by lecturer and artist Ken Roberts during the Art and design foundation course, at The Ipswich School of Art. I loved the dramatic look and feel of using the huge antique cast iron presses and equally large pieces of paper.

Printmaking is very addictive, and feel it is a beautiful and unique artistic discipline, combining meticulous planning with (very often) unexpected, magical results.

The final reveal when pulling a multi layer print is thrilling, because there are so many variables that can either make or ruin a print.

There is not really a quick answer to this..

My first introduction to printmaking was in 1994, in the brand new purpose built printmaking studio at Suffolk College (aff. University East Anglia). I tried linocut, but quickly became frustrated with (I now know they were very blunt) slippy tools and rock hard brown linoleum. There was no way to make any fine marks and it all felt rather clumsy.

Love and attention was then wholeheartedly put into etching, I spent all my spare time annoying Ken with questions and learning as much as I could whilst transferring many of the Art School drawings to print.

I then started a degree course, upon completion of the foundation course, at the same location, as I was keen to continue learning and practising print techniques. However, I was aware that I probably needed a bit of career at the end of the course, so branched to Illustration - sadly this was exclusively drawing/painting based.

Leaving Ipswich (with a 2:1 (Hons) degree) and Ken/the print room, I moved to Oxfordshire in 1998. I then had to get a regular job to pay the mortgage, so was an Insurance underwriter for 18 years - with gaps for maternity leave, where I picked up printmaking again during nap times and discovered that linocut tools and artists linoleum have considerably improved over the years!

In 2016, I left the insurance industry to dedicate more time to my kids. When they were at school, I was able to practice and explore linocut and what it has to offer.

Now that they are teenagers and I have much more time for drawing and printing again, experimenting and refining my work, enabling me to build a body of work that I am proud of.

And now I have my very own press in the dining room.. still saving up for a proper studio in the garden!

Whilst the application of paint to canvas could be quicker, I have total admiration for those who do paint. However. I really enjoy reduction linocut in particular - the planning, deciding what the image is to be, the layers involved, the how each layer is to be put down and the colours and opacity of the ink involved, before you even start making the print.

I also really enjoy the physical carving of the block, it is very therapeutic.

The cherry on the cake, is the excitement of the final layer and the print reveal, up until the final layer (sometimes up to 10 layers) has gone through the press, you don't know if it will work as a complete finished piece.

It may take longer, but to me it is way more exciting and I get to use a press - my beautifully engineered, great big lump of steel!

Sadly the world has changed in recent years, and therefore due to the variable tarifs/taxes/duties and postal costs to other countries, I am unable to send abroad at the moment.

I always start with a walk, thankfully my lovely dog, Clem, also likes a walk, this gives me time and head space, to think about what I am going to do. As a result of these walks I have have a greater understanding of the clouds - I can spot a rain cloud many miles off now! I take photographs, to capture the fleeting changes within the clouds as this has provided my inspiration over the last couple of years.

I like the ordered process and planning, having left a very structured career and rasing little people, I missed having my brain stretched. I also needed some order and structure, together with the thrill seeker in me that also enjoyed the potential that it could all go wrong at any point.

I enjoy the physical effort of the carving and the extra grunt of turning my direct drive press.

Reduction linocut is a printmaking technique that produces multi-coloured prints from a single block of linoleum. Because the block is progressively carved away with each colour layer — once you move forward, you can't go back to print earlier stages.

How it works

1. Start with a design — Transfer your image onto the linoleum block, often using carbon paper or by drawing directly. Also decide on a way of registering the print layer, all layers must be align precisely, so that the subsequent colours overlap correctly
   
2. Carve the first layer — Cut away any areas you want to remain the colour of the paper (usually white). These carved areas will never receive ink.
   
3. Print the first colour — Ink the block with your lightest colour. You must decide your edition size before starting. Once the block is carved for the next layer, earlier states are gone forever.
4. Carve again — Remove the areas you want to stay in that first colour.
   
5. Print the next colour — Ink with a darker shade and print over the same sheets.
   
6. Repeat — Continue carving and printing, working from light to dark, until the image is complete.
   

Each layer is printed directly on top of the previous one, (but you must allow the ink to dry inbetween) building up colours and depth.

As a contemporary print artist (primarily Linocut), Eve seeks to capture the simple beauty of the ever-changing skies. Her current focus is on the often overlooked, fleeting and transitory nature of the clouds, presenting viewers with a moment frozen in time, inviting contemplation on the impermanence of the natural landscape.

Having completed 5 years of Fine Art and design at Ipswich School of Art (University of East Anglia) with a Degree (Hons) and a love for printmaking. She then moved to Oxfordshire and settled in a very small village, just outside Chipping Norton on the edge of the Cotswolds.

She has exhibited her work on numerous occasions, both in the UK and Europe.

The intricate patterns and textures Eve carves into traditional linoleum are a homage to the complexity of our environment. In her practice she continues to wholeheartedly embrace and explore the limitations and possibilities that Linocut printmaking offers.

Her current work highlights the expansive clouds above Oxfordshire, carriers of light and shadow, constantly transforming and reshaping in the sky above and the resultant effect on the colours and light of the landscape below.

This always depends on the number prints in an edition, together with the numbers of layers/times the paper is put through the press and how intricate the design is, just for curiosity I kept a tally of the number of hours spent - not including the drying time of a week between each layer.

Just so that I have an idea, I kept a tally of the time spent on Spring Cumulus, an edition of 12 (I started with 15, but this reduced to 12 due to colour corrections and misalignments. In total it took about 50 hours to complete.

However, Hay Bales took 4 hours, this is because it was an edition of 4 (started with 5) and only two layers/rolls through the press.

fluffy little clouds