September 2010

• Critical Mass: Printmaking Beyond the Edge the latest book by Richard Noyce has just been released. It showcases the work of 52 artists from 28 countries, I am one of four artists selected from England to be included. "In recent years the boundaries between the once distinct fields of the visual arts have become blurred, and growing numbers of artists now incorporate printmaking techniques within their practice. This book provides a broad-ranging and challenging source of information on the most exciting cutting edge developments in international printmaking" as stated in the overview. My sculptural piece 'Daylight Robbery' was selected by Richard after he visited my studio in 2009. The work is a statement about recent economic events and uses several digital print processes along with a variety of other media. The book is available from Amazon.
• The E17 Art Trail in London kicks off on the 3rd of September and runs through to the 12th of September. Now in its 6th year, the Trail showcases hundreds of artists around Walthamstow in 200 exhibitions, at over 120 venues, studios, galleries and alternative spaces. My animation City Point Rag has been selected to be part of the BBC Big Screens event 'At home; in public' curated by The Projection Gallery.com.

August 2010

• I've just spent some time in Germany where I had the opportunity to gather hundreds of photos from the streets of Berlin. The photo 'BVG' was taken at a bus stop near Alexanderplatz, it advertises the Berlin public transportation system. It's a poignant visual statement, as German friends had mentioned the breakdown of the air-conditioning on the trains during July's heat wave. This poster had melted and distorted under the plastic from the extreme hot weather, a distressed image that needed no manipulation from me. A very timely reflection on the recent problems of the German Rail system.

July 2010

• It was interesting reading the article 'Whiter than white' in this summer's Printmaking Today magazine. Artist Edd Pearman writes about his research at London's Royal Academy of Arts School on inkjet printing onto coloured paper. In my Experimental Digital Printmaking workshops we discuss how to make the most of printing onto non-white surfaces, as a lack of a white base impacts all colours. Inkjet pigment inks are very transparent, almost like watercolours. I advise creating a layer in Photoshop with the coloured surface and try a blending style to get an idea of the effect on your image before printing onto an expensive paper or a unique prepared surface. Using the white digital grounds from InkAid or Golden offer new possibilities for digital printing onto non-white surfaces. Two prints in my 'Urban Postings' series use this technique, 'Fissure' had white ground painted onto Lokta handmade brown paper in two areas before printing, while 'Blah Blah Blah' was printed directly over the white ground on green Lokta paper.

June 2010

• June is the month for Artists Open Studios across the SE of England with many individuals and group studios opening their doors to the public. Fellow ReOrsa Artists Lynn Andrews, Barbara Cotterell and Jenny Parkes are taking part in the Bucks Open Studios with their ceramics, sculpture, and installation work in the studio and large garden setting. Also running is the Surrey Open Studios which Ochre Print Studio in Guildford is participating in. They have over 40 artists exhibiting work there, including the wonderful art films by Marcus Rees Roberts.

May 2010

• The 'Gene Pool' is a quarterly podcast covering Arts Industry topics, New Media, Sonic Arts, and much more. Martin Franklin (digital artist/entrepreneur) produces the podcast which I co-present with him. We've now got the opportunity to transmit on the radio airwaves with SoundArt Radio 102.5FM in a weekly half hour show. SoundArt Radio broadcast from Dartington College in the Totnes area of Devon, UK as well as stream live on the net. The first season runs for 12 weeks through to July and has highlights from some previous podcasts. It starts on Wednesday 19th May at 7.00pm with Martin and myself in discussion with artists Kay Sentence and Ann Rapstoff of ArtWash.
• The Experimental Digital Print workshops I have been running has given me the opportunity to work with dozens of artists from across the south of England. The creative explorations that take place are tremendous with several artists creating new, interesting work. One such artist is Helen Tranckle and her stunning piece 'Chinese Whispers' combining acrylic with a digital wet transfer, check out her current work at www.helentranckle.net. Another is Clare Schmidt Norris who applies digital transfers onto, or directly prints over, painted surfaces for intriguing personalised art portraits. Her work can be seen at www.clareschmidtnorris.co.uk.

April 2010

• I am showing work at two galleries in the south of England this spring. A few prints from my Urban Notes series were selected for a small curated group show 'Art and Language' which looks at the way artists use text within their work. The exhibition which is at The Lloyd Gill Gallery in Weston - Super - Mare opens on the 8th of May and runs until the 4th of June. Meanwhile, a second chance to see some of my large drawings of Bracknell Town from the Bracknell Regeneration Project series can be had at Expression Fine Art Gallery in Crowthorne, Berkshire.

March 2010

• 'New Possibilities in Print' is a season of workshops I'll be leading between April and October that explores the techniques for combining digital print with more traditional print processes. The season is a joint venture between the Digital Media Centre at South Hill Park, Bracknell, Berkshire and Ochre Print Studio in Guildford, Surrey. The season includes Photoshop training aimed at artist-printmakers who want to develop images for use in other photo transfer processes. More information can be found on the Digital Media Centre and Ochre Print Studio websites.

February 2010

• My animation 'An Urban Abstraction' has been chosen for the 'Contemporary Video Art from The Projection Gallery.com Collection' and will be shown by BBC Big Screens London in the period up to the end of 2010. It's a group showreel compiled for the Local Shorts programme to be shown on the large outdoor public screens at Walthamstow and Woolwich and other potential BBC events. The selection was made with an emphasis on accomplished artists from the UK and overseas whose work is appropriate for the public arena.
• I was commissioned by Artists & Illustrators Magazine, a practical advice arts publication, to write a three-part introduction series on using Photoshop within a visual fine art practice. The articles are published in the February, March, and April 2010 issues available throughout the UK.

January 2010

• A digital wet transfer uses pigment based inks, a flat feed inkjet printer, and a pre-coat or digital ground. It is a technique for transferring by hand an inkjet image onto an absorbent surface such as paper, canvas, or plaster. This process gives a softer, slightly broken texture to the image and broadens the types and sizes of surfaces an artist can use. I use inkjet wet transfers throughout my work as it's perfect for re-creating the decomposed urban surface and can be easily combined with other media. For more information on the process read my article 'Wet wet wet' published in the Winter 2009 edition of Printmaking Today, Vol 18, No 4.

December 2009

• Reading based artist and writer Jennifer Leach has written a very insightful and judicious review of my current solo show 'Observations on a Town' which you can read on AN Interface Reviews Unedited. Jennifer has been writing a blog on AN since September about her main work Crow!.
• The recent Experimental Digital Print weekend workshop at the Digital Media Centre was a great success. Artists came from across the south of England to explore creative ways to print or transfer digital images onto a range of surfaces. To see photos of the digital wet transfer process and some of the works created by the artists visit the Digital Media SHP Flickr page.

November 2009

• My solo show 'Observations on a Town' opens at the Bracknell Gallery at South Hill Park, Bracknell Berkshire on Saturday the 28th of November at 1 pm. For the gallery's main space the town of Bracknell, with its 1950's architecture and pending regeneration, is my inspiration. While in the side gallery I'm taking a broader look at the urban surface and it's use as a means of communication. Included in the exhibition are drawings, collage, prints, video and sculptural installations.
• I'm involved in the Digital Developments Season of creative workshops at the Digital Media Centre at South Hill Park running a 2 day course on Experimental Digital Printmaking on the 21st and 22nd of November. Using many of the techniques first developed by the Digital Atelier, artists attending the course will learn about wet transfers and preparing a range of materials for printing on inkjet printers.