Colin Blanchard
I am first and foremost a printmaker and although every print I make has its surprises – from which I always try to learn and develop – I do not like to rely on chance, and strive for precisely-controlled printing technique throughout. So, my prints are nearly always in uniform and consistent editions, but are genuinely limited by the accumulative process and progressive nature of their making.
Images of Studio
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About My Practice
I am continually fascinated by image-making that is a result of (often traditional) practical craft skills, and which creates truly ‘original’ prints – which, although in multiples, are not in any way a reproduction or imitation of any other medium. However, as a student I explored (pre-digital!) photo technology in printmaking, and some 50 years later I continue to benefit from an amalgamation of traditional and modern techniques and materials.
Tools & Materials
I work mainly in linocut and screenprinting and regularly in a combination of the two. I will often use a computer in the first instance to ‘sketch’ and compose images (and sometimes incorporate my own poetry). But I always then go on to work with direct, hands-on methods of drawing, painting, cutting, carving, inking and printing.
And the thrill of lifting the paper from the block or from under the screen, time and time again, never leaves me!
Examples of work
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Spring Fling Activity
Founder member of the South West Scotland Printmakers group. Demonstrations and workshops.