Drawing with Black Ink – the Artist Working in the Studio

Print description

Here I am, drawing on a lovely architect’s desk gifted to me by two friends when I moved into the studio back in 2015. I’m focused because drawing in ink cannot be erased or undone; each stroke of the pen or brush requires forethought before the ink is applied.

Surrounded by my favourite books—Constable, Ravilious, Picasso, Louis Fratino, and more—tucked under the table. Nearby is my Gustav Klimt plant, a gift from my friend Mike, which has survived for years. There’s a really ugly but charming red glass Edwardian lamp, along with a classic 1998 Ikea Tertial work lamp. My Art Quarterly magazine from Art Fund rests on the table and also around the scene, my design for the Glyndebourne festival mug, a vase featuring dragons I painted on my 50th birthday, shoes, ink pots, sponges, feathers…

On the wall and floor, prints are propped in boxes—Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage, a Brighton Seafront panorama, The Bandstand, and the West Pier. Also a vase I painted with my dragons and a pair of shoes, a gift from my very good friend and architect Luis, and scattered tools I use for drawing such as feather, sponges and sandpaper.

Print details

To create this print, I start by crafting individual drawings in ink, which collectively form a collage comprising the final piece. I scan my drawings and digitally add colour. The original design solely exists in digital format, and I print it using archival inks and paper. I then release my design as a limited edition print, available in standard ‘A’ sizes, ranging from A0 (84.1 cm x 118.9 cm) to A4 (21 x 29.7 cm).

Domestic Interior and self expression

This work echoes many different sources, from Vuillard’s colourful depictions of the domestic patterned interior, many of which I saw at Pallant House Gallery in 2022, to the Alekos Fassianos Foundation, which I visited in Athens during the summer of 2023. Also in a mental periphery I can think of Ben Nicholson still lifes with his everyday objects; or Gwen John interiors, specially one exquisite painting ‘La chambre sur la cour’ that depicts an balcony

The human figure in a scene

I have been running life drawing sessions in Brighton for many years, and the depiction of the human form fascinates me. Through this piece, I aim to express both my personal experiences and the environment where I live. So the inclusion of a figure is very important, referencing one of my living art heroes, artist Louis Fratino, with his modernist cubic contemporary classics. It also draws inspiration from a recent exhibition at Studio Voltaire in London, that featured a pairing of works by Beryl Cook and Tom of Finland, held in the summer of 2024