To my own work now: I love pattern and colour, organic shapes and nature. I focus on the space of a room, its interior and the crossover between everyday and slightly more ambiguous and dysfunctional spaces. My work is a journey going from nowhere to everywhere, an oasis of colour and form. And where would I be without Matisse?
My purpose is to render my emotion. This state of soul is created by the objects which surround me and which react in me; from the horizon to myself, myself included.
(Matisse)
I grew up with an incredibly cool and eclectic antique dealer for a father, so I’ve never been more that a few feet from a 17th Century sideboard or an art deco lamp. So furniture is very important to me, too – especially considering how little attention it is often paid (not least with the sea of flat- packs in which we live. Ikea, I’m looking at you). I want to return to the organic beauty of these objects/ furniture using print!
Screen printing Is a brilliant medium for these ideas: using layer upon layer of colour. The result, however, can sometimes be rather flat, which is something I am not used to, having trained as an etcher. I’ll admit that I am finding this process a little more challenging – the technique appears deceptively simple, yet its hard to grasp. But by bit, I am trying and learning.
I have been hand finishing my prints recently, just to add another dimension of marks and the illusion of depth, different textures. At the moment, I’m also experimenting with hand-drawing my positives to expose to the screen (here, the hole in my Photoshop knowledge becomes abundantly clear). Then, having printed my first layer, I overlay tracing paper, draw directly onto the new later using a combination of Indian Ink, posca pens, china graph crayons and wax pastels. Using a variety of materials, I achieve a variety of marks, which is what I want! That’s why Hockney’s prints are so genius.
This is such an exciting time and I am so fortunate to have this opportunity to meet interesting and creative people, and to challenge myself in a new environment. I will update you with my new work and progress in a week…
