Elaine
Marshall
Ever since I can remember I was always drawing; as the daughter of a BBC broadcast engineer, my drawing paper was the unwritten-on backs of discarded radio scripts that he brought back from his work. At the age of sixteen I left my academic grammar school for the heady delights of Goldmiths’ school of art, followed by a postgraduate in painting and lithography at the Slade School of fine art. Much later I was invited onto B.A. degree course in Book Arts at the London Institute creating handmade artists books At my studio at home in Greenwich, I work in several printmaking techniques; I print etchings on my Rochat press and Relief prints on my 1850 Albion press. My work is inspired by patterns in landscape, from mazes, labyrinths and islamic concepts, to natural forms in the landscape, images of imaginary butterflies, snowflakes ,doves and foxes and by travels in France, Morocco, Nepal and Tuscany,. Observations much neared home in my garden in Greenwich have resulted in a series of linocuts depicting urban foxes, With two fellow printmakers in 1979 I co-founded the Greenwich Printmakers Association, now an established co-operative whorun their gallery in the covered market in the heart of historic Greenwich. I've participated in their group exhibitions in the UKand abroad and I'm also a member of the Greenwich Open Studios. My original prints are in many private collections, andin the National Maritime, Greenwich and the V&A museum , London
At my Greenwich-based studio, where I have a Rochat etching press and a 1850 Albion relief press I specialise in etching and relief printmaking. In etching I sometimes use two copper plates, the main plate for the image and a second plate for aquatint. With my linocuts I use either one or several blocks according to the design Often I merge several colours on the roller so the colours vary across the print.
I am inspired by patterns, either man-made as in mazes, labyrinths and Islamic concepts, or by natural forms in the landscape, images of imaginary butterflies, snowflakes, doves and foxes, and by travels in France, Italy, Morocco and Nepal.
I'm a founder member of Greenwich Printmakers and also participate in Greenwich Open Studios. I have exhibited widely in the UK and abroad and my work is in private and public collections, including the National Maritime and Victoria and Albert museums.
