A blog about Stockport landmarks by artist/printmaker Neil Robinson which follows a printmaking project depicting the diverse architectural styles of my hometown both new and old.
On Saturday, I attended the 101st Stockport Art Guild exhibition at Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery. I have 3 prints in this year’s exhibition which consists of 2 etchings based on Stockport that I worked on just before the Covid lockdowns and a photo screen print I completed this summer at Green Door Printmaking Studio in Derby.
The exhibition was a massive success and I helped with setting it up over the last few weeks.
You’re invited to Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery to see the artworks of our talented, creative members. Many works for sale!
Our artists all have their unique style, and you can expect a wide variety of works.
Preview: Saturday 26th November 2022 at 2pm to 4pm (Refreshments provided)
Exhibition: Sunday 27th November 2022 to Friday 20th January 2023
Venue: Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery, Wellington Road South, Stockport, SK3 8AB.
Gallery Opening Times:
Thursday and Friday: 1pm to 5pm
Saturday: 10am to 5pm
Sunday: 11am to 4pm
Closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
Telephone: 0161 474 4453
Email: [email protected]
I am currently busy getting ready to show some new prints for two forthcoming exhibitions.
The first exhibition is not related to Stockport and relates to another town in the Manchester area called Radcliffe and the project is called ‘Spirit of a Place’ organised by Bury Art Museum. The second will be the annual art exhibition organised by Stockport Art Guild later this year.
Earlier this month, I took part in a 1-day photo screen-printing workshop in Derby. During the workshop, I learnt the process how to create a full colour CMYK prints using acrylic inks on paper.
The day was very interesting and enjoyable and I produced a number of prints for the Radcliffe project. Here is a photo of me screen-printing at Green Door Printmaking Studios.
The Stockport Art Guild exhibition will be held at Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery between late November until early January 2023. I will be submitting two etchings aquatint prints on the theme of Stockport which I will reveal in a future post.
2020 has been a “challenging one”, which is a phase I’ve heard many times this year not surprisingly. My year in general has had its fair share of ups and downs like most folk.
The printmaking project has certainly been affected by this year’s pandemic but I have made the most of the situation by being as productive as possible with home printing and attending a few social distanced workshops. I took part in the first ever Manchester Open which ended early, the Macclesfield (Virtual) Open which was a first for me and the Towneley Hall ‘Impressions’ exhibition which will run until mid-February 2021. Hopefully more people will be able to view the Towneley exhibition before it ends if lockdown restrictions are relaxed in time.
In the Autumn, I entered a screen-print edition for the annual Hotbed press Twenty/Twenty International print exchange.
I will definitely be doing more screen printing next year and experimenting with other printing techniques like lithography on kitchen foil.
Currently, I am in the process of designing a brand-new personal website which will be linked to my blog.
I will be adding new features to my website and displaying artwork previously not seen before. The new site will be launched early in the new year. Really looking forward to getting my new website online.
Once published, you can view my website at: www.neilrobinson.me.uk
At the beginning of the year, I started work on a new etching depicting the river Mersey just before lockdown kicked in. I hope to continue work on this printing plate in the new year all being well.
In November, I launched a brand-new Instagram account for the printmaking project which will be good for promoting my project and blog.
I am looking forward to getting back to studio workshops and completing my printmaking project by the end of next year.
Well, it’s time for me to sign off for 2020.
Merry Christmas and here’s to 2021!
Stay safe.
Cheers,
Neil. 🎄
I want to share with you a few photographs of the d.i.y. jig I created recently to help me register and print my multicoloured screen-prints. I am using a Daler Rowney screen-printing kit which cost approximately £40.
The jig consists of a wooden ply board base with a baton of wood attached to it at one end. I have glued plastic corrugated spacers to the board which allows a 2mm space between the board and the screen.
The Daler Rowney screen is attached to the board with metal door hinges and screws. This allows the screen to be tilted at 45 degrees for charging the screen with ink.
The printmaker can align the paper using the registration markers that are attached to the board. The registration markers are basically stripes of masking tape.
I have found the jig to be of great help when printing a block of colour. I use drawing ink and pink masking fluid to apply a mask to the screen. I have also found using parcel tape is another quick and easy way to mask a simple area on the screen. The only disadvantage of this is that the ink can bleed through if the tape is not fixed to the screen properly. Afterwards, I use a high pressure water spray, old toothbrush and bicarbonate of soda to remove the masking fluid once printing has finished.
Overall the results have been good and I feel I am getting more experienced with this type of printmaking. I have created a list of colours to print. So far I am up to Vermillion (colour number 6), which is for the red door. I had to add a bit of white to the Vermillion Red so it would stand out on the print from the other colour previously printed.
I will post my final print on the blog soon.
Stockport In Print 
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