My prints use figuration and abstraction to portray the landscape of places I know well; the sources come from working en plein air or by expressing landscape filtered through memory. The physicality of my approach to the printing process combined with a contemplative exploration of surface makes the subject spontaneous and vibrant whilst capturing an intimate connection with the landscape.
I have lived on the Fen Edge near Cambridge; the initial focus of my work is the meeting point of land, horizon and sky, their flatness altering the perception of distance. The big East Anglian sky is not the dominating feature here, instead the texture of the black soil is rendered in the foreground, reaching up to the unnaturally even furrows of an intensively farmed field or reed stubble picked out across the surface of a wetland with the thready detail of a tree and hedgerow.
My limited edition prints are hand pulled on an etching press. I predominantly use carborundum, a technique where a mix of a binder and carborundum grit is applied onto the surface of a plate and inked up. It provides highly embossed, velvety textures and rich, dense tones. To contrast the carborundum, drypoint is added to produce an incised line, which is characteristically thin, linear and precise. My prints have gradually evolved from monochromatic studies by introducing colour to reflect the Fens’ ever-changing mood and light. I print to the edge of the paper to leave the composition as unconstrained as the landscapes from which I seek inspiration.
Mow Fen XXII
26 x 29cm, carborundum, monoprint and dry point, unique print
SOLD
Instagram: @iona.howard