Mountcatten

An artwork begins with a ballpoint drawing on acid-free paper. Occasionally I may also use pencil construction lines and reference photos.

Once this base drawing is complete, it is professionally scanned at high resolution and then cleaned up to remove stray spots or finger marks before being turned into a museum-quality print on off-white German etching paper. The process enhances the original work, creating greater contrast and presence. The paper size is usually bigger than the original, to allow for better positioning during framing.

I then draw in additional unique elements such as additional figures, botanical elements or embellishments, once again using ballpoint. The Hahnemuhle paper has a blackening effect on the ballpoint additions, so the transitions between the print and the new marks are not easily apparent to the viewer, even by close examination. The final artwork is a unique numbered variant of the base drawing.

Sometimes the base drawing is also available to buyers. While the scale is typically the same, the paper size is usually smaller, and the drawing itself is dark grey on white paper rather than solid black on off-white textured paper.

I sign my work on the back.

I regard presentation as an important part f the buyer's experience, and therefore prefer to present and sell my work framed where possible. I collaborate with expert framers who are either artists or art consultants, and will usually choose art glass and aluminium with off-white mounting.