Introduction and background
Jean Edwards attended Bretton Hall College, Wakefield where she was taught by Jenny Kirkwood and Phyllis Tate, who specialised in printmaking. It was there that Jean developed her passion for screen printing. Jean is a founder member of the Hull Print Collective and has exhibited her works widely across the area.
I have seen a number of Jean's works in exhibitions and I am particularly interested in how she achieves her "layered" effects and her use of colour.
Jean Edwards, Triptych, Hull Fishing Heritage Exhibition, 2019
General:
Are you inspired by particular artists (past or present)? –
If so, who and why?
1.
I really love the work of both Gail
Brodholt [Printmaker] and David Hockney. Much of Gail’s work depicts the London
transport network and the journeys made across the network and the city. Some
of my prints are inspired by visits to London, Europe and Dubai.
Much of Hockney’s work is inspired by
his visits to various parts of the world.
I love their use of strong bold
colour which is often a feature of my work.
2. I am interested in Fauvism. I know it was a
very short lived Art Movement but it was all about colour. This plays an
important part in a large percentage of my prints.
Do you aim to make a point through your work e.g.
political/social/ environmental? If so, how?
3. No
4.
I live in
a rural part of East Yorkshire but on the edge of an industrial area. I often
go out with my camera to capture a view or something which interests me and may
be inspiration for a print. My surroundings have definitely influenced me.
I
attended the High School for Art, Hull and Bretton Hall College, Wakefield. I
was very fortunate to be taught by Jenny Kirkwood and Phyllis Tate, two
inspirational teachers. They were both passionate about printmaking. It is
because of them that I am also passionate about it.
5.
I am passionate about screen printing and tend
to specialize in this area. In the main I think I have a recognisable style
that is distinctively mine. All of my prints are original and are taken from my
own photographs.
The
technique I use for generating my stencils for the prints is unique to me.
A lot
of my prints are also vibrant and show the use of a strong colour palette.
Jean Edwards, Then and Now
Image 1 - men waiting for the trawler on the dock
Image 2 - men looking at the fish in the bins
Image 3 - the fish in the sheds
Image 4 - filleting the fish
Image 5 - the barrow boy moving the fish in to the boxes
Image 2 - men looking at the fish in the bins
Image 3 - the fish in the sheds
Image 4 - filleting the fish
Image 5 - the barrow boy moving the fish in to the boxes
How do you promote yourself as a Professional Artist? Do you
have any advice?
6.
I am a
member of Hull Print Collective and promote myself through the website which
has links to Facebook and Twitter. I submit my prints for entry to local Open
Exhibitions and take part in local exhibitions as part of the Collective.
Do you specialise in a particular medium or mediums? -If so, what and why?
1.
I
specialize in Screen printing. I have always had a particular interest in this
area of printmaking and was very fortunate that I was able to do printmaking
for part of my A level Art Coursework and continued with it at College. I am
passionate about screen printing. There is often an element of surprise!
2. I work from my own photographs. I manipulate
the images using ‘gradient map’ in Photoshop to create the stencils which will
be applied to the screens using a photographic process. This process allows me
to create some very interesting stencils.
4. Monochrome can be effective. I have recently
printed a series of ‘Winter Trees’ using this method. I liked the simplicity
and it ‘worked’.
5. This often depends on the subject matter. I
think I have been successful in achieving ‘atmosphere’ with the use of colour,
in a series of landscape prints of trees.
How do you relate your work to the viewer?
6.
I hope
that my prints will be displayed in a good position in the gallery, if possible.
I hope to get a positive reaction from the viewer, and for this reason I would
like to include a piece which has been inspired by the local area.
Curation:
What do you consider to be the main considerations in
curating an exhibition?
1. Having enough time!
Book
the available space and receive exhibition dates in writing from the gallery.
Consider
any cost implications.
Decide
if you want a ‘theme’ for the Exhibition .
Assume
nothing!
What do you think are the most important elements in an art
exhibition/gallery from the point of view of the experience of the viewer?
2. Visitors should leave with a new knowledge
so it is important to have some additional information to accompany the work /
artist or artist group.
The exhibition should be vibrant
and thought provoking.
Some information which explains
how the artist can be contacted [if appropriate].
Above, illustrations of detail of Jean's approach
Supplemental Questions
Would you be able to
include what technique(s) you used to get that lovely “layered” effect? I
thought that it really suited the subject matter as it gave an impression of
time passing and an air of mystery. Could you also say something about how/why
you chose that colour palette and the method for including the colours?
It took me a long
time to resolve the piece I did for the 2017 exhibition. I nearly abandoned it
but that is not in my nature. After giving it a lot of thought and bouncing
around a few ideas in my head I knew I wanted images of the old photographs
printed over the top of what the dock looked like now. I wanted it to look
haunting and to tell a story. I chose lots of old photos which interested me
which were taken on St Andrew's Dock. I converted them in to 'dots' using
photoshop and produced a folder of A6 samples. They didn't all work as some of
the images were of poor quality.
I went on to St Andrew's Quay in February 17 when the sky was clear and the sun was low. I knew I wanted to capture the detail in the reeds and the graffiti on the walls of the Lord Line building. ! I took lots of images. I then had to select which 6 [it was going to be 6 originally!] old images of the workforce I was going to print over the top of the photographs I had taken. This was easier said than done. It was important that the image in black dots 'worked' with the photograph I was intending to print on. Lynne was our tutor at the time and I printed the first final piece at college. Lynne was really enthusiastic about it and she said it looked haunting. That was music to my ears as that was the effect I wanted to achieve.
So in answer to your question below my colour palette was chosen for me. I didn't alter the photos in any way. They were the colours I saw when I went to photograph the old dock each time. I just printed the images which were converted to dots over the top!
I went on to St Andrew's Quay in February 17 when the sky was clear and the sun was low. I knew I wanted to capture the detail in the reeds and the graffiti on the walls of the Lord Line building. ! I took lots of images. I then had to select which 6 [it was going to be 6 originally!] old images of the workforce I was going to print over the top of the photographs I had taken. This was easier said than done. It was important that the image in black dots 'worked' with the photograph I was intending to print on. Lynne was our tutor at the time and I printed the first final piece at college. Lynne was really enthusiastic about it and she said it looked haunting. That was music to my ears as that was the effect I wanted to achieve.
So in answer to your question below my colour palette was chosen for me. I didn't alter the photos in any way. They were the colours I saw when I went to photograph the old dock each time. I just printed the images which were converted to dots over the top!
Other Comments
I was interested in Jean's inspiration, so I did some research on the prints of David Hockney and the work of Gail Brodholt, who is new to me. They make significant use of bright colours, which is a feature that I feel I could build on in the future.
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