Plough the Fields - new etching

Do you ever wish that you could bring home a bit of the countryside you enjoyed on a holiday or walk? Photographs can be disappointing when they don't seem to capture what you love about the place. I know the feeling and I've turned to the special properties of printmaking to bring the landscapes I love to life.

"Plough the Fields" is my latest etching and most ambitious patchwork landscape to date. It's not of a particular view but the hills and fields are reminiscent of both Northumberland and the Yorkshire Dales. The distant hill could be Whernside or Pen-y-ghent in the Dales. The viaduct does allude to the Ribblehead Viaduct which I remember well from family cycle-camping holidays when we would travel on the Settle-Carlisle railway with our bikes.

When creating a landscape, I bring together a number of different elements and combine them in a balanced composition. There's a mixture of imagination and simplification to create my unique style. The marks and patterns I can make with etching are part of that process.

The two copper plates were made over several weeks. I'd be lying if I said it was easy! They were extremely challenging technically with the plates being etched many, many times in ferric chloride to achieve the varied lines, textures and tones. The video below shows the printing process. It took several proof prints to establish the colours I would use for the edition.

This etching is now available in my online shop where you can see the size and price and look more closely. It can also be purchased framed in oak.

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