Westonbirt Maple Print

'Westonbirt Maple' stone lithograph original print by Fiona Hamilton.
Editions 1 and 2 printed on 285gsm Fabriano Rosaspina paper, 3 to 5 printed on 300gsm GF Smith Plike.
Paper measures 50cm x 70cm.
Signed and numbered in an edition of 5.

An edition of prints taken from a drawing and painting on stone of a maple tree (acer) in Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire.

Rosaspina is a traditional warm white soft printmaking paper made from cotton and cellulose and has two cut edges and two deckled edges. Plike is a modern smooth cellulose paper with a cool white colour and cut edges.

This was produced on my printmaking MA at UWE and was the first time I drew over the whole stone, edge to edge. Phil, the litho technician at UWE, was very nice in letting us print edge to edge of the stone as it’s tricky to set the press and wears out the scraper bars faster. I used a mixture of crayon, pencil, liquid tusche and autographic ink to create this print and to try to capture the spiky maple leaves. It was a useful exercise in using all the materials and understanding what each one does.

About the artist:

Fiona Hamilton is a Bristol based printmaker. Her work explores the ecological sublime and an appreciation of the majesty of nature. She uses detailed intaglio etching, drypoint, lithography and chine collé to draw the viewer into an ethereal landscape that has an impact on our sense of place in relation to the natural world. She uses primarily black and white with natural tones of chine collé and sometimes layers of lithographic texture to introduce warmth to the stark palette and to invoke a sublime emotional connection. She works from sketches, photographs, notes and memory to create her prints.

Fiona has an MA in Multi-Disciplinary Printmaking from The University of the West of England (2023). Previously she studied Graphic Fine Art at Canterbury (2002) and established Soma Gallery in 2004.