Tag: printing

Designer Desire: Bernard Cheese

Montage of Bernard Cheese artworks

Last week, we were introduced to the brilliant work of Bernard Cheese through an upcoming auction of 20th century art at Prior Park in Bath. Bernard Cheese (1925-2013) was a British artist, printmaker and illustrator. He studied at Beckenham School of Art followed by the Royal College of Art between 1947 & 50. It was at the latter where his teachers included Edward Bawden.

Cheese was a tutor in printmaking at St. Martin’s School of Art during the 1950s & 60s, was a lecturer at Goldsmith’s College in the 70s and the Central School of Art and Design in the 80s.

He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (previously the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers).

As part of the 1951 Festival of Britain – working with Bawden – he painted a mural on the Lambeth Lead Works Shot Tower. The tower was demolished in 1962 and the Queen Elizabeth Hall was erected on its site. In the same year, he produced the Pantomimes & Circuses poster for London Transport.

His work can be found in the permanent collections of the V&A, Tate Britain, Fry Art Gallery and Nottingham City Museums & Galleries. Apparently, The School of Art at Aberystwyth University owns 87 prints and 12 watercolours by Bernard Cheese, some of which were donated by the artist in June 2002, creating the largest public collection of his work and representing over four decades in Cheese’s career.

Prints of Cheese’s work and books that he has illustrated can be purchased from Amazon, eBay, Etsy , Hayletts Gallery and The Bookroom Art Press.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Chloe Cheese (@chloeacheese)

Additional image credits:
Art UK | Wotton Auction Rooms

Designer Desire: Richard Shimell

Montage of Richard Shimell artworks

Portrait of Richard Shimellcredit

This week, I saw a tree linocut print created by Richard Shimell which I loved so much I went in search of more of his work.

We have an absolutely huge sycamore tree in our front garden that we take pleasure in observing on an almost daily basis. We see the way it ebbs and flows with the seasons – its bare-branched silhouette in the winter; the array of birds and insects that use it for food, nesting and shelter in the spring; the auburn leaves and whirligigs carpeting the ground beneath in the autumn. His studies remind me of this reassuring, annual cycle; the trees are the stars of the show!

Here he is giving a little insight into his practice:

I started printmaking late in life. After a career in journalism, I joined the Dartington Print Workshop as a complete beginner in 2010. It was a steep learning curve, but I stuck at it and eventually started selling my prints. I became a member of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen in 2016.
I live in a wooded landscape on the edge of Dartmoor, so am lucky enough to be surrounded by trees. I have a small studio at home with my own Hawthorn press.
I’m drawn to the simplicity of silhouettes and the complexity of branches. I enjoy all stages of the making process, from drawing to carving to printing.
I also make books, using my prints on the covers and enjoy experimenting with other forms of printmaking, including drypoint, collagraph and etching on lino.

You can purchase his works on his own website and select galleries in Devon, Cornwall, North Yorkshire, Norfolk, The Lake District and others.

Designer Desire: John Frederick Greenwood

Montage of John Frederick artworks

Why have we not heard of him prior to this week?! John Frederick Greenwood (1885-1954) was born in Rochdale – Justin’s home town.

He was a woodcut artist, copperplate engraver, etcher, illustrator and water-colourist (signing his works ‘John F. Greenwood’).

He studied at Shipley and Bradford Schools of Art (1904-08) and at the Royal College of Art in London (1908-11).

For a short while, Greenwood taught at Batley School of Art before moving on to Battersea Polytechnic (1912-27), Bradford School of Art (1927-37) and was Head of the Design School at Leeds College of Art until his retirement in 1948. Greenwood died in Ilkley in 1954.

In 1982, an exhibition entitled Wood Engravings and Woodcuts by John F. Greenwood and his Contemporaries was held at Bradford Art Galleries and Museums.

He beautifully illustrated a number of books including Twenty-Four Woodcuts of Cambridge, A Short History of Ely Cathedral, A Short History of St. Mary’s, Hitchin. In 1952, he authored his own book, The Dales Are Mine, copies of which are currently available on Abe Books and Amazon.

Examples of his work is in the collections of the Ashmolean, Bradford Museums and Galleries, Brooklyn Museum, Leeds Art Gallery and the V&A.

Image credits:
Annex galleries |

Designer Desire: Lill Tschudi

Montage of Lill Tschudi linocuts

Lill Tschudi (1911-2004) was a 20th century Swiss-born linocut artist. Along with the likes of Sybil Andrews, Cyril Power and Claude Flight, she was a member of the influential London-based Grosvenor School.

She produced in excess of 300 different linocut designs during her illustrious career. Like the other Grosvenor members, her subject matter often included sport, transport and travel – conveying the speed and movement in that distinct style.

Her work has been included in many exhibitions worldwide; British Prints from
the Machine Age at MoMA (2019/20), Cutting Edge: Modernist British Printmaking at The
Dulwich Picture Gallery (2019), The Cutting Edge of Modernity: An Exhibition of Grosvenor School Linocuts at the Osborne Samuel Gallery, London (2013), British Prints from the Machine Age: Rhythms of Modern Life, 1914–1939 at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston & MoMA (2008).

Prints of her work can be bought covering a range of budgets. Top dollar works come up for sale at auction houses such as Bonham’s and Christies with hammer prices from £2,000 to the tens of thousands. Pallant House and The Bookroom Art Press sell prints from £138.00. If that’s still too steep, there are prints listed on eBay for less than £20.00.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the work of Lill Tschudi and the other Grosvenor School alumni, there have been a few books & catalogues published on the subject; The Cutting Edge of Modernity: Linocuts of the Grosvenor School, Cutting Edge: Modernist British Printmaking and British Prints from the Machine Age: Rhythms of Modern Life. Tschudi’s 1933 Ice Hockey print (shown in the montage above) is the cover artwork for Impressions of the 20th Century: Fine Art Prints from the V&A Collection.

Portrait of Lill Tschudicredit

Additional image credits:
Artsy