Profile.

I am an abstract printmaker, painter, and educator. Embracing all forms of printmaking equally my prints are produced using hand or laser cut plates, via hand stamped blocks, as risograph prints, or digitally as Giclée prints. As a painter I work predominantly with oils or acrylics. I was originally trained in Wood Metal Ceramics and Plastics at Brighton Polytechnic. There I used the opportunity to develop a series of sculptural mixed media floor pieces in wood and ceramics. After leaving Brighton I continued to develop my work both 2 and 3 dimensionally but now mostly works in 2D, with paint, print and encaustic mixed media. 

Process & Practice.

A great believer in maintaining a curious, questioning and open mind, I embrace all forms of inspiration equally; wherever the source comes from... Things experienced, seen, read and heard, maps, grids, archaeology, science, the environment and natural processes, and my instinctive responses to the medium itself.  Whatever form the inspiration initially takes, the starting point for all work begins as a series of sketches. Ideas may be explored traditionally on paper or digitally where the computer allows me to work quickly and precisely on manipulating ideas and complex patterns. When a piece of work finally does come together, inevitably it’s never quite what was initially intended as at some point the work always takes on a life of its own. From that point I have to proceed intuitively and expressively letting the ‘needs of the work’ dictate the eventual outcome. My paintings are abstract, structured, geometrically based but often incorporating uncontrolled elements such as runs and bleeds where serendipitous interactions within the medium shape the final result. As a piece develops the underlying structure is often progressively obscured by these more erratic elements. It’s this unpredictability I also like with printmaking (particularly with collagraphs, riso and stamp printing where each print is different and serendipitous accidents can and do happen). This philosophy underscores the dynamic relationship established between my vision and the inherent qualities of the materials.  I’m responding to the pleasure (and sometimes frustrations) of the medium. For me there are always avenues left unexplored and these inevitably lead to the development of alternative solutions and/or new directions.

Recent work has explored issues concerned with genetic modification, and the chance production of new chimeras. This theme has been explored through a series of abstract artworks featuring ‘manipulated’ geometries. These take the circle as a trope (which I see as a metaphor for the ‘perfect’ seed, a genetically engineered ‘Pandora’s Box’). By manipulating simple geometric systems based on circular repeats I produced complex and unexpected visual outcomes, that through alignments of overlapping geometries, created images evocative of ‘new and imagined’ flora and fauna.

Currently I’m developing a new direction, exploring relationships between simple geometric shapes, their ‘family groups’ their interactions, examining how they interact through colour, placement, overlap, repetition, and degradation.  Similar shapes are a common ‘visual language’ found universally across cultures, as clan symbols (for example as the Mon in Japanese culture), on medieval European heraldry and ecclesiastical architecture, and in contemporary design as branding. Begun initially as stamped prints, I intend these to form the basis for further painted and (perhaps) animated work.

Looking retrospectively the unifying theme across my work is the interplay between structured and chaotic systems, where chance and accident play pivotal roles in determining the outcome. Naturally one piece of work suggests another and so a body of work emerges as a series of iterations around an initial idea or theme. It’s only when looking over previous work that often deeper underlying motivations begin to become clearer to me. Reflecting on my artistic practice, I find that working through ideas, making space for the subconscious to manifest itself in the work, and exploring the labyrinth of routes to an outcome is what makes the process interesting and exciting. Essentially if I knew what the answer was before I began, I’d be less interested in starting the journey.

Teaching Experience

I hold a 7407Level Four Stage 3 teaching qualification, have D32/33 assessor award and I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Whilst passionate about maintaining my practice, through my active participation in arts education I have consistently worked to encourage other to find and develop their own creativity.I have been involved in the delivery of a wide range of Art and Design Programs since 1982. This has been through working with community arts groups, offenders in prisons, special needs students, schools, college, and undergraduate students. As an educator I hope to impart firstly an outward looking and investigative attitude of mind, and secondly a range of skills on which the student can build and develop. I am demanding of students, (but I also value and am responsive to student opinion) expecting them to demonstrate commitment and passion for their work. My main aim is to produce questioning and innovativelt creative students who are well motivated and have something to say for themselves.

University of Lincoln. B. A. Hon's Graphic Design.
I was the Year 2 leader for BA Hons Graphic Design at the University of Lincoln where I taught on the Year 1, 2 and 3 Graphics Modules, and Year 1 Creative Advertising Modules. I also led and organised the Univerity's annual Big Draw event for the College of Arts, and acted as the contact point for the School of Design and regional schools and colleges. In the summer of 2024 I gave up my full time post as a Senior Lecturer at The University of Lincoln, School of Design, to focus on my practice, and on developing arts workshops.

Offender Learning.
Before joining the University full time I worked part time as the course leader for Visual and Digital Design Studies at HMP Morton Hall. The course was open to all regardless of ability and offered a mix of short and long-term study options from Level 1 through to Level 3 and had an excellent record of achievement at GCE AS and A2. After release several students progressed into Further and Higher Education design courses.

Quote:HM Chief Inspector of Prisons/OFSTED 2008.

'Some prisoners's art work was outstanding, with good achievement of qualifications at levels 1 to 3'. (Morton Hall had won the national 'Women in Prison' art competition for the previous three years running).

Publications.

Investigating and Making Prints and Ceramics at Key Stage 3.    Brian Voce & Tim Bax.   ISBN 1 86025 137 4