Sussex Printmakers is a small but friendly printmaking studio based at Colonnade House which offers a diverse range of stimulating, artist-led courses and open access studio sessions. Their third exhibition at the gallery will see recent works from artists Peon Boyle, Martha Harris, Sue Hawksworth, Rosemary Jones, Hattie Lockhart-Smith, Wayne Longhurst, Shona Macdonald, Alix Mercer-Rees, Sophie Mutter, Sarah Sepe, Anna Vartiainen, Ed Watts and Julia White.
Peon is a Sussex-based printmaker who uses everyday objects or scenery to tell a story. Her recent work depicts the landscape where she escapes from her day-to-day roles of being a mum and artist. Within this landscape she finds balance in her life and gains strength for her mental well-being. The dynamic yet soothing colours — alluding to the organic materials depicted in her prints — have intricate, elegant and somehow minimalistic feelings.
Martha Harris
Martha’s printmaking work explores collage imagery from her own photography, drawing and sourced imagery. She has a love of bright colour which stems from her eclectic education in both fine art and fashion and textiles. She initially studied sculpture at Camberwell College of Arts where she was introduced to etching as a side line to 3D practice. This in turn led her to fall in love with all things print!
Sue Hawksworth has long been inspired by the effect humans and nature have on the landscape. Light and shadow play an important part in her work, enabling the pattern and form of the landscape to be revealed. Sue has explored these themes in a range of media including monoprint and collagraph, and enjoys working with different materials and processes to explore more abstract forms.
Sue’s recent works are based on sketches made in Yorkshire, Pembrokeshire and Sussex. She makes prints using a variety of methods including linocut and monotype. She also paints in oil, acrylic, watercolour and pastel.
Image: ‘Nolton Haven 2’, Sue Hawksworth, Monoprint, 20 x 15 cm
Rosemary came to art as a mature student at Northbrook College, where she learned about linocutting. She was inspired by artists such as Eric Ravilious and his linocutting friend Edward Bawden.
Rosemary loves the sea, the sky and landscape of the South Downs, and it has been a natural focus of her work. She also depicts subjects such as flowers, having worked as a gardener for twenty years.
All of Rosemary’s prints are original handmade linocuts, made with real ink, on real paper, on a real press, by her. Each print is unique because it is entirely made by hand.
Hattie Lockhart-Smith
Usually working from photographs Hattie begins with creating a monotype of the image – applying ink to a smooth substrate, laying a piece of paper over the top and drawing onto it. She enjoys this process as it does not require expensive equipment so is very accessible and you are never sure how your print will turn out! Once the ink has dried Hattie adds colour to the print using pastels, paints or inks, creating a one off image.
Wayne was born in Brighton and moved to Worthing in 2012. He is best known for his original linocut prints. His subject matter is usually inspired by the seaside or the Sussex Downs, both of which he is lucky to have on his doorstep. He has a particular interest in intricate designs, constantly wishing to challenge himself.
Wayne started to teach himself the process of linocut printmaking in a spare bedroom. That spare bedroom has since become his studio, where his artwork is produced by hand.
Shona Macdonald is an artist and maker based in Worthing, Sussex. While simultaneously working across a variety of media, her latest collection of Collagraph prints takes the crow as inspiration, exploring its character and presence through texture and pose. The prints themselves form part of a greater body of work to be exhibited later in the year, incorporating poetry, painting, ceramic and charcoal pieces.
Shona trained in Fine Art at Chelsea and Middlesex University and has worked as a freelance artist in the commercial sector, returning to her own Fine Art practice in recent years.
Her work is often concerned with rhythms of decay and renewal, drawing inspiration from the natural world and finding synergy with human experience.
Alix Mercer-Rees
Sarah Sepe
Sarah Sepe’s prints are part of series made in her studio using hand burnishing techniques. They have been created using reduction with two lino plates (there’s not a lot left of the surface of the original lino surfaces as more is cut away between each layer of printing) and have been built up with layers of ink to exploit the painterly potential of linocut printmaking. Each print is a unique and unrepeatable work of art.
Sarah’s art practice is based on printmaking, drawing and textiles. She studied at Northbrook College and at University of Chichester where she gained an MA in Fine Art. She is a founder partner in Worthing Art Studios which is now based at the West End Gallery and Studios in Rowlands Road where you can see more of her work.
Inspired by her natural surroundings past, present and imagined, Anna makes screen printed landscapes featuring the forest, coast and sky. From her childhood summers in Finland, to her current home by the sea in Worthing, the trees, land and horizons have affected her deeply and are explored in my work.
Always beginning with hand-drawn and painted lines and textures, Anna builds layers for printing, playing with colour and transparency, aiming to evoke an elusive feeling. At the INK exhibition she will be showing some new work inspired by the beauty and drama of our local area in winter.
Julia is a self taught artist and printmaker who has trained in print making with the Sussex Art and Printmaking Studios. She started foraging for plants to study, which became an obsession and brought her closer to nature. Having a camera with her at all times, she has started to combine her work by using impressions of digital imagery along with traditional techniques. Her work has been greatly influenced by Arthur Rackham who captured the Sussex scenes through his beautiful illustrated fairytales in the late 1800s. She aims to give a child like perspective of the plants and butterflies where Rackham once trod.
Open Tuesday – Saturday.