From early on in my life I’ve been captivated by trees. My current crop of etchings focuses on our beautiful South African trees. The genuine gold leaf represents, for me, just how precious our trees are. These are hand printed original prints (not reproductions) subsequently the prints might present with slight variations during the inking up process. Each print is numbered and signed. My limited editions usually vary from 10 to 50 prints per image.

The whole process of intaglio printing is quite labour intensive. In summary, the zinc plates are cleaned, covered with melted hard ground and the image is then sketched onto the surface. The plate is acid etched through various stages of blocking out. The hard ground is cleaned off and the plate is then ready to be inked up. A fairly messy process ensues until I’m happy with the inked up plate. The plate is then covered with dampened Fabriano and squeezed through my etching press. I print a few ‘artists proofs’, either reworking the plate or experimenting with slight colour changes until I am happy with the image. My drypoint etchings begin by sketching directly onto copper or various plastics. The editions are usually very small as the plates flatten fairly quickly.

I love letting the qualities inherent in whichever art material I’m working with surprise and challenge me. Whether it’s the intaglio process, charcoal and acrylic or oil paint, I enjoy the dance between improvisation and control. I prefer to work from life as there is an immediacy and energy to the line, zooming in to some areas and excluding others which results in the drawing becoming highly personal. I do however work from my reference photos accumulated quite obsessively while travelling.