In The Studio With David Newton

We sat down with resident Print Club artist David Newton to find out more about his process. David’s affinity for screenprinting started at a studio in Bristol – it was the draw of manually printing imagery away from the digital world that got his attention. David builds all of his designs by hand, with no computers, cutting and scribbling with many types of real pens and pencils; montaging and taping to tracing paper to then expose directly to a screen to screenprint. David celebrates all the mis-registrations and splodges that come with the handmade process of screenprinting his bright and cheerful artwork.

  EVERYWHERE. I like to look and stare. A lot! I love weird packaging, scraps of wallpaper or an overheard conversation on the bus. Words are usually present and tend to start off a sketch.

I love coming in everyday and smiling and laughing with fellow creative nerds. I’m always about – cackling usually – and love to help out a lost or overwhelmed newbie.

Alex Beattie is pretty much the hardest worker and maestro of colour. Look close to his sublime works and see just how layered they are with colours. Rose Stallard’s work makes me smile. Always. Full of colour and shape and play and bags of personality. I’m pretty obsessed with Gavin Dobson’s Pool series of screenprints. He’s usually upstairs painting figurative work. But these pools are such a clean and minimal series that you can almost imagine his (impressive and impressionist) characters diving into.

Alex Beattie, Demon Wheel, edition of 100, 50 x 70cm, £100

PATIENCE! You have to slow down in the studio. You always make the mistakes rushing about. Slow down and enjoy it. And be clean and tidy! If you’ve got ink on your hands, you are doing something wrong! Plus you want to be a good print buddy for the next person and NOT get ink on their work.I like a challenge – Like animals moving about. I’m often at the zoo sketching away. I’m a big fan of pelicans and birds in general. I like sketching with chunky pencils. But, because I know my output will be a screenprint, I like to use highlighter pens in different colours, so I can start to plan out how I may split out or layer the colours.

Papo’s Bagels (round the corner) for a “Classic’ crema cheese and schmeer on and an ‘everything bagel’. Washed down with an oat latte from MOONSHOT (Dalston high street). Divine.

I’ve a permanent studio space, (upstairs in Absorb Arts), and I’m always nipping up and down between there and the screenprinting studio. I try and get in the studio little and often. I’m always behind with restocking my popular backstock of prints, so there’s always printing to do or foiling to catch up on. I like to have my most recent new piece laid out upstairs so that I can ponder and slowly add to it until I’m ready to print. Printing a new piece is always my motivation; Because I don’t work digitally, I won’t know what it’ll look like till it’s printed.

David Newton, I’ll Raise You A Rainbow, edition of 100, 50 x 70cm, £100

David Newton, Sunshine in Stereo, edition of 100, 56 x 76cm, £175

David Newton, Crank Up The Colour, 50 x 70cm, £150