This print is one of a number of recent prints exploring and exploiting the expressive potential of the printmaking technique known as carborundum relief printing.  This was developed by the French American artist Henri Goetz (1909 – 1989) in the 1960s who introduced it to a number of other artists notably Joan Miro.  Miro wrote to Goetz saying ‘the results are fascinating and very beautiful. The artist can express himself with more richness and freedom…which gives a beautiful substance and a more powerful line’. 

This is one of two prints (Brushstrokes 1 and 2) which differ only in the colour range.  As the title suggests I was interested in the way brushstrokes have their own emotional and expressive language; in this print influenced by the different colours and printmaking techniques.

I have been making prints of Thames views for some time and more recently became drawn to quays and ships’ moorings. I enjoy the architectural, sometimes almost abstract shapes they make, and their strength but also slight dilapidation.

I discovered, almost by accident, these “dolphins” – freestanding, powerful moorings that appear all along the Thames. I spotted my first one by the HMS Belfast and was hooked. No-one seems to know the origin of their name except that it is almost certainly not connected to the marine mammal.

These “dolphins” – freestanding, powerful moorings appear all along the Thames. According to a very helpful contact at the Port of London Authority they come in all shapes, sizes and materials so that there is no clear definition.

I enjoy the architectural, sometimes almost abstract shapes of quays and ships' moorings, their strength but also slight dilapidation. I add hand colouring to my prints using coloured pencil techniques and print on Fabriano Artistico 300gsm.

The Tide (Vertical) series of monotypes were made in the studio, responding to 100 watercolour paintings made in Scotland in the summer of 2021. They record changes to the sea, the tide and the weather. In their making, controlled accident and chance combine with painterly mark making to make new landscapes.

The Tide (Vertical)  series of monotypes were made in the studio, responding to 100 watercolour paintings made in Scotland in the summer of 2021. They record changes to the sea, the tide and the weather. In their making, controlled accident and chance combine with painterly mark making to make new landscapes. This image plays with the line of the horizon, with a colour that describes the sea or the sea, with marks below. Are these waves or beach? The line between the two is blurred.

Part of  Tide (Vertical) series of monotypes which were made were made in the studio, responding to 100 watercolour paintings made in Scotland in the summer of 2021. This image describes the sea changing. A blue green sea and splashes that describe the moment the wave breaks on the shore.

The Tide (Vertical) I-C series of monotypes were made in the studio, responding to 100 watercolour paintings made in Scotland in the summer of 2021. They record changes to the sea, the tide and the weather. In their making, controlled accident and chance combine with painterly mark making to make new landscapes. The print describes being in the moment, observing the sea, it captures the feeling of being there, watching the sea, immersed in it.

Part of  Tide (Vertical) series of monotypes which were made were made in the studio, responding to 100 watercolour paintings made in Scotland in the summer of 2021. This image describes the sea changing. A blue grey sea with splashes of the waves coming in.