PRINT GALLERY

Preparing for a demonstration of linocutting in the NEWASHGATE gallery in Farnham. 10.6.17

Original Fine Art Prints vs Digital Reproduction

I believe, with the advent of cheap digital copies, the work of the fine art printmaker has become under-valued – the general public no longer seem to understand or appreciate the time and creative energy that goes into making a hand made original print.

A fine art print is not a “copy” – if you want a “copy” of an original drawing or painting, you can get a digital reproduction in your local high street. The popularity of some reproductions have led to artists like Scottish Jack Vetriano going on to command some astronomic prices for their original paintings when they come up for auction. “The Singing Butler”, by Verriano sold the highest number of copies of any reproduction in 1992 and lead to a glowing career.

In days of old, if artists’ wanted copies of their work, they had to go to a specialist commercial Offset Litho company and have a minimum of 250 copies made and this was both a time consuming and expensive exercise.

Now, for a very modest outlay, you can get a short run of high quality digital reproductions using a high resolution scanner and a Giclee” printer.

“Giclee” means “little squirt” in French : expensive inks are simply squirted at a piece of paper, resulting in a copy that specialists claim will last for 70 years. Alternatively, a fine art print – if it has been created on acid free paper, with good quality inks, will last for hundreds of years as witnessed by the wood engravings of Renaissance artists from the 15th century !

I consider myself fortunate to have begun my formal training with a one year Foundation Course in Art and Design – when in 68/69 we were taught the fundamentals of drawing, painting, sculpture and printmaking. Next came a 3 year course in graphic design and illustration and we honed our skills the time honoured way – there were no computers in those halcyon days !

Furthermore, when I lived in London, I worked at the studio of Maureen Black, one of the founder members, of “Greenwich Printmakers” and she encouraged me to experiment with aquatint, (a method of etching used to produce varying levels of tone). Over the ensuing years, I’ve dabbled with intaglio printmaking and although I exhibited with Greenwich Printmakers I didn’t really consider myself a “printmaker” until much later, when I became a member of Portsmouth’s “Omega Printmakers”. I have since discovered the joys of Wood Engraving and now and show fine art prints in a number of different galleries.

Below : linocuts from Chichester’s Oxmarket Contemporary Gallery 26.11.24-08.12.24 .

8B99683D-57F6-4D9D-88F3-3F3A45903373

77ABF65A-A88D-4350-8E3C-DE6C078CC12B

F88B51D6-92F6-4E3A-A39C-404D1B0F58D8

Deben 4 Tonner “Leading Wind” wood engraving on Japanese Shoji Paper copyright Chris N Wood all rights reserved. I was honoured to be selected to show this wood engraving at the NATIONAL ORIGINAL PRINT EXHIBITION SUMMER SHOW AT BANKSIDE GALLERY LONDON UK 18.9.19-29.9.19

Woodbridge Tide Mill limited edition hand pulled Linocut copyright chrisnwood allrightsreserved

St Thomas and the Dolphin Limited Edition Hand Pulled Linocut copyright chriswoodartist

“Svea” Designed in 1937 Finally launched in 2017. A contemporary Swedish J Class Copyright Chris N Wood all rights reserved. Limited edition of 150 – some very slight variation with the colours of the edition as the blue is a mixed colour and almost impossible to recreate !

St Thomas & The Dolphin copyright Chris N Wood

“Shoalway and the Round Tower” copyright Chris N Wood

The above was recently described as “Grime Art” – not a term I was familiar with but I think it was intended as a compliment !

HMS 33 Royal Naval Dockyard Limited edition Lino Cut available now

“Summer Visitor to the Camber” copyright Chris N Wood. The first of a new series of limited edition prints – available now !

Camber Dock Old Portsmouth : Limited Edition Hand Pulled Linocut copyright ChrisNWood All rights Reserved 2018
“The Bridge Tavern” Linocut © www.chriswoodartist.com all rights reserved . site size of lino block 420x297mm. Prints Available from Jack House Gallery Portsmouth £195 unframed

“Ship & Castle” (with HM Naval Dockyard, HMS Warrior and AC45’s leaving port for a days racing) Limited Edition Lino Cut © Chris N Wood www.chriswoodartist.com All rights reserved 2015 site size of lino block :