Anne James analyses the art and appeal of a master printmaker

When he was an art student in Lancashire, Iain Hodgkinson, in his own words ‘fell in love with print-making’ and with the unpredictability of the medium, describing this as its ‘unknown-ness’. For while the print-maker starts with their vision of a finished piece, the variability within the process that is print-making often results in an unanticipated effect.

Following a career in public service Hodgkinson was able, four years ago, to return to print-making full time and he has developed a substantial portfolio and a following. Now Milton Keynes based (where he is a member of the Milton Keynes Print-makers) he continues to be inspired by the north of England and in particular Cumbria — its mixed topography of coastal and inland waters, its boats, its farmsteads and dwellings, its farm animals and the wildlife. He describes his work as ‘consisting of textural, aesthetic forms’ which he builds from the actual realities he sees and experiences and photographs.

This is the first time he has exhibited in Oxfordshire and the Cotswold area.

The exhibition is comprised of 20 framed pieces of work plus a selection of mounted unframed pieces and a range of postcards. All the work on show is small: 10cm x 10cm to 50cm x 50cm. Hodgkinson explains that prints are inevitably limited in size by the size of the press used. He always prints his own images, keeping each to small editions, a maximum of 20.

Print-making is the process of making artworks by printing on to board or paper. The process enables the maker to produce multiples of the same piece, each of which is original and unique. Print-making embraces a number of different techniques. Of these Hodgkinson favours collagraph and intaglio. Collagraph employs differential amounts of inking and combines this with the depth of relief that the print-maker has created on the collagraphic plate’s highly textured surface. Watendlath, Cumbria, illustrated here, exemplifies the successful use of collagraphy to create a sense of mood and place. Capturing as it does the barns nestling in the crook of the valley, the intensity of the dark trees and hedges behind them which inevitably draw the eye towards the barns themselves and the wintery path that runs in front of them. And then bringing the picture to a formal close by depicting a short length of sturdy fencing.

In intaglio the image is incised into a surface or plate, allowing the incised area to hold the ink. The surface is then wiped to remove the excessive ink. Damp paper is placed on top of the plate. This is then covered by a thick blanket to ensure even pressure when the piece goes through the rolling press. The high pressure pushes the paper into the grooves resulting in the final printed image. Drypoint is one intaglio technique. It a method of engraving in which an image is incised into a plate with a hard-pointed needle. The final printed lines produced by drypoint are formed by the burr thrown up at the edge of the incised lines. The deepest lines leave enough burr on each side to prevent the paper pushing into the centre of the stroke, leaving it un-inked.

In Birds’ Nests, Hodgkinson combines collagraph and drypoint to capture the bleak simplicity of a winter scene, the dwelling framing black lines of the serpentine road on the other side of which are the winter trees sporting an abundance of nests. In Barbondale, also illustrated, Hodgkinson uses wood cut, another intaglio technique, with mixed media. Wood is incised to produce indentations and reliefs, and depending on the scale of the incisions, results range from delicate lines to substantial statements. Here Hodgkinson has produced strong marks that speak of the rugged landscape to enhance the majesty of the valley framed by a complex lowering sky.

The diminutive delicacy of each engraving is enhanced by the scale on which they have been made. Each celebrates Hodgkinson’s technical ability, his eye and his vision through which he captures and interprets his beloved Cumbria.

Iain Hodgkinson
Owen Mumford Gallery, Chipping Norton Theatre, 2 Spring Street, Chipping Norton
Today to February 5 from 11am-3pm and during shows and films
Tickets 01608 642350