ABOUT JIM
YORKSHIRE ARTIST & TRADITIONAL PRINTMAKER
Living in Yorkshire UK, I draw inspiration from its natural beauty and the vibrancy of northern cities, combining my love of nature, culture and graphic art.
As long as I can remember, I’ve had an obsession with creativity. After achieving a degree in Graphic Arts & Design, I worked for many years as a commercial designer, but I’m now fulfilling my life-long passion for traditional printing techniques.
WHAT IS SCREEN PRINTING ANYWAY?
a super-simplified guide
Contemporary screen printing was hugely popularised by Andy Warhol and the Pop Art movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
The age-old art has roots that go back to many ancient cultures, although the process as we know it today began advancing in the late 1800s, when it was used for printing repeat-patterns on textiles.
A “silkscreen” is a frame with silk stretched over it. (Nowadays a synthetic mesh is used)
Each colour within the artwork needs to be separated onto an individual screen. Once the screens are prepared, ink is forced through each screen by pulling a squeegee across it, which transfers the ink onto the paper.
This is done by hand, one colour at a time, making sure that each new layer of colour lines up with the other printed colours. The hand-made nature of this process makes each print slightly unique, despite it being part of an edition.