The making of an artists book 'An alphabet of Scarborough' Images and Text by Michael Atkin

The making of an artist's book using 19th century printing presses

'An Alphabet of Scarborough'

Images & text by Michael Atkin Foreword by Colin Simpson

This book is a way of trying to answer all the questions I have been fielding ever since I first mentioned creating An Alphabet of Scarborough' in conversation some three years ago. It has been my most adventurous endeavour in book production. I have screamed, laughed and fretted over a lot of it, but on the whole it has been the most enjoyable experience.

I am indebted to the following people for their encouragement, help in scouring the library archives for factual information regarding some of the places depicted in my limited edition book, their time and suggestions. To my wife Beverley for her understanding and suggestions, tea and sympathy when things went wrong. Jeannie Swales and Tony Bartholomew for the article and photographs which appeared in the Yorkshire Post colour magazine in November 2016, which acted as a catalyst, and spurred me on to complete this project, also for permission to freely use many of Tony's images.

Tony Belshaw for turning up with suggestions for difficult letters, often with a pile of reference books about Scarborough (U for Unitarian Church was his suggestion).

To Colin Simpson for graciously agreeing to write the introduction to this book.

Smith Settle for the perfect binding, accommodating my requests and answering all my questions with good cheer.

To Gavin and Denise, Shaun and Philippa at Coast Gallery, Cloughton, for hosting the launch of the book in their gallery.

Launch exhibition May 5th - June 7th 2017 at the Coast Gallery, Cloughton.

Several photographs by kind permission of Tony Bartholomew www.bartpics.co.uk

Contents

1 Foreword by Colin Simpson 3 About the artist 4 An Alphabet of Scarborough 5 The binding 7 Endpapers 8 The printing presses 9 Lino printing 10 Wood engraving 11 Letterpress 12 Etching 13 Paper 17 The Headland, Scarborough 18 Art Gallery 19 Beach Huts 20 Cliff Lift 21 Dean Road Cemetery 22 Esplanade Gardens 23 Foreshore Football 24 Grand Hotel 25 Harbour Bar 26 Italian Gardens 27 Jail 28 Keep

29 Lighthouse 30 Marine Drive 31 North Bay Railway 32 Oliver's Mount 33 Peasholm Park 34 Queen Victoria's Statue 35 Rotunda Museum 36 Spa Bridge 37 The Towers 38 Unitarian Church 39 Valley Bridge 40 Windmill 41 X93 42 Yew Court 43 Zig Zag 44 The wood engravings 45 Collating the book 46 Smith Settle 47 Factual 48 What are original prints?

49 Giclee prints 50 Contact

South Bay, Scarborough (detail) Original wood engraving on English lemonwood (152 x 152 mm)

Foreword For all his once-held cosmopolitan aspirations, Michael Atkin has lived most of his life within a 50-mile radius. He has also drawn the bulk of his subjects from the same landscape and significant sights. His most recent work, the magnum opus ‘An Alphabet of Scarborough’, is testament to the way he teases subjects out the familiar, but they are never straightforward depictions of a scene; there is always a subtext, an undercurrent, a back story, which is there for the observant – or the nosey. The storytelling instinct is very strong in all of Atkin’s work and the subjects have mostly stayed within that North Yorkshire area. Sometimes the stories are clear, other times more obscure and personal; the titles can give the game away but it would take an artist’s note on each to ease out the detail in them all. An artist is always watching, but often people within the scenes are themselves looking out, absorbed in their own thoughts. The landscapes on view, even when you take out obvious landmarks, are recognisable within the geographical compass of his life and work. You can turn a corner and look down into a village in the North York Moors and see an Atkin view, or drive over the brow of a hill and see a stand of trees by the side of the road over yonder that you’ve seen before in one of his pictures. While he admits an interest and influence from artists such as Stanley Spencer and Paul Nash, the views are very much his own and have, in their turn, been influential on other artists following his lead.

The Scarborough volume is not Michael’s first hand-produced book, but it acts as a summation of both technique and subject matter. His first book, The Scarborough Tragedy, was based on a folk tale told by Victorian peddlers and story-tellers, of seduction, murder and execution; that was over 40 years ago and showed an early enthusiasm for the form. The move into book production was inspired by the example set by William Morris, his Kelmscott Press in the late 19th century, and the small book presses that followed him: beautifully produced volumes, illustrated and printed by craftspeople who cared about the details. And it is the ‘craft’ that he clearly enjoys.

Talk about the multiple layers of work that go into each etching – the coating, the drawing, the engraving, the stopping, the acid baths, the aquatint – and however much he may claim it is a chore, he is in technical heaven. Michael even went to the length of learning bookbinding to be able to complete the job entirely himself. For the ‘Alphabet...’ this was a step too far, but he has supervised the design and hand-picked the company that will complete the work.

The second book, Beggars Bridge, was a beautifully illustrated historical romance of Glaisdale, North Yorkshire; a thwarted but ultimately successful love match, again drawing on local traditions and reflecting a deep love of the area. The exception to almost all of his other work is the book ‘Blue’, the story of a blue Pontiac automobile, the American dream that he once fostered – how many different editions of Jack Kerouac’s’ On the Road grace your bookshelves, Michael

Having learnt the craft of printmaking as a student and run a successful print workshop, it is exciting to see the enthusiasm with which Michael has taken up wood-engraving in just the last few years. It is a development from lino-cutting, which has been a mainstay of his work for many years: still a surface print medium but the scope (and the need) for detail is immense and the scale much smaller – the hard wood required for the detail of the blocks only grows in small trees! Part of the thrill for him is the return to the history of print. The most famous classic wood-engraver was Thomas Bewick working 200 years ago, but the medium is still being used for books: the main commissioner of work by wood-engravers in the latter half of the twentieth century was the Folio Society for their illustrated editions.

Michael Atkin is very much working in a tradition, and pleased to be part of that story. The skill and novelty he brings to it guarantees him a place with the best of his predecessors.

Colin Simpson, March 2017 Principal Museums Officer, Wirral Museums Service Curator, Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Birkenhead.

About the artist

Michael Atkin is an artist printmaker who produces limited edition fine art prints in three different

mediums; lino-prints, etchings and wood engravings. Occasionally he turns his hand to books. He has recently completed his fourth artist's book.

He founded his own 'private press' Bracken Press in 1974 during the publication of his first limited edition artist's book entitled The Scarborough Tragedy whilst still at Maidstone College of Art in Kent. The book was purchased by Dr Roy Strong for the Victoria and Albert Museum. Beggars Bridge and Blue were the titles of the next two books hand produced by the artist.

The influence of the Kelmscott Press (founded by William Morris) has been a guiding light for his subsequent adventures into 'private press' publishing.

Michael purchased his first antique printing press in 1974, a double crown Albion Platen Press, to which he later added four more presses of similar age to form the workshop he now operates in Scalby, Scarborough.

He is the current secretary of The Fylingdales Group of Artists (founded 1925) and an exhibiting member of Leeds Fine Artists (founded 1874), member of the Oxford Guild of Fine Printers, a member of the Fine Press Book Association, Vice President of the Friends of Scarborough Art Gallery, a member of the British Printing Society and the Wood Engravers Network USA as well as a subscriber to the Society of Wood Engravers.

Michael is married to Beverley with two daughters, Rebecca and Katy, a grandson Joseph, and shares some space with Lily the cat.

Copyright reserved by Michael Atkin

The making of an artist's book 'An Alphabet of Scarborough' Images & text by Michael Atkin

An Alphabet of Scarborough The creation of this book has taken three years, from initial idea to fruition; the meticulous planning which takes place before the first image is created is both long and decisive. Whichever decisions are made in the initial planning stage will affect the whole book, so decisions are very important, mistakes can be costly.

I have always liked working on a series of images which have a connection, be it size of image or subject matter, I wanted to produce something substantial, a book was the logical solution.

Back in art college my final dissertation was completed on William Morris and The Kelmscott Press. A lot of research and visits to printers occurred . This would be the start of my passion for books, especially the ‘private press’ books made by artists.

Over the years I have visited many an exhibition of artists’ books, including The Open and Closed Book exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum, which included two of my very own creations The Scarborough Tragedy and Beggars Bridge.

Having celebrated the 40th anniversary of the founding of my ‘private press’ imprint name Bracken Press in 2014, I felt it was time to create another book, something pertinent to myself and something I could get excited about.

With another 40-year celebration approaching, (purchase of a Rochat etching press in 1977), it seemed fitting to create a book filled with etchings. But what subject matter and how big?

Why an alphabet?

In recent years I have reduced the number of prints in my limited edition prints runs from 60 to 30, mainly because I have too many ideas and not enough time to print 60 images; 30 is more manageable. I prefer to create new images and print a little less. So the thought of a book with 26 images in it, printed by 26 is a grand total of 676 printings. The idea of limiting the edition to just 26 bound copies would also limit the number of printings to 676 impressions. It also

meant I could either number or name each book with a letter.

So 26 images it was: but could I find sufficient images to represent each letter?

Why Scarborough?

Having moved to Scarborough in 1977, I had completed a small series of etchings specifically about the town. Six images had been editioned, the plates were small, and that was it. I'd not created a significant number of prints about the town since then.

I thought it would be a fitting tribute to the town to celebrate its diversity, and the more I researched Scarborough the more I liked the idea.

Certain letters proved more difficult to match to a scene or place U being one! V originally was the Vita Dome, but I couldn't get excited about the image. X was rather difficult to start with, then I hit of the idea of X93 ( the bus route) from Scarborough to Middlesbrough.

The more I thought about the idea the more I liked it.

One starts with an idea and then with so many rough sketches calculates how the images and text (if any) would form a coherent collection.

The size and shape of the book had to be considered; would there be any text; what type of binding will eventually hold the pages together is of utmost importance. The larger the book, the greater freedom in the format of images and text had to be considered.

Text If I was going to include text I would need a large amount of moveable type I didn't want to have the text pre-set by computer, and then made into line blocks, it had to be hand-set, hand-printed on fine paper. I'm a member of the Oxford Guild of Fine Printers: the connection proved invaluable in locating fonts of moveable type. A letterpress printer in Kent was retiring and selling off all his type I bought four different cases. Whilst in contact with the seller I discovered another member of the 4

British Printing Society was also purchasing some fonts and very kindly agreed to collect on my behalf. It would mean a trip to Northumberland to collect from his house, but it was nearer than Kent. During the intervening time before the type arrived I started work researching which images would be required and considering the binding.

The binding It's good to have some sort of idea what the binding will be like: loose leaf, boxed, overstitched, exposed binding, rounded, squared there are multiple ways of binding a book.

Over the years I have experimented with different types of binding, mainly as sketch books, but this has also given me several ideas of how a book is constructed and what the limitations are. My first book, although bound, wasn't stitched; the second was loose leaf in heavy boards; Blue was professionally bound in paper covers and cloth spine.

Once the binding had been imagined it was time to try it out. The larger the paper the easier it is to handle, so I opted for a full sheet of imperialsized paper, which would be ripped in half, then folded once to created a page some 16 x 11 inches in size. Choosing the paper again was of great importance as it had to be strong enough to print etchings and lino prints and even wood engravings, with the possibility of all three mediums.

The paper also had to be strong enough to bind with thread. I love deckle edges on handmade paper, the light passing through the edge of a sheet is something wonderful, so the paper needed to have at least two deckle edges.

Hahnemuhle etching paper, white or natural, 140 lbs (300 gsm) fitted the bill, strong when wet, as it has extra long fibres, good texture, but not too much like Arches and could at a pinch take a wood engraving impression.

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My rudimentary book-binding skills were pushed to the limit, but after two days I had managed to construct a ‘blank’ book mock-up. A paper cover was discounted as it would not support the weight of 26 pages, so it had to be hard bound, with a strong spine leather being the strongest it was the only option. Using leather meant that a book-binders 'zinco' would be needed for the impression of the title on the spine. Would it be square backed, or rounded?

Square created other problems: when opened a 'gapping' could appear, which in turn dictates a headband, which looks better on a rounded spine. So rounded it would have to be, with headband, gold-blocked title and hard cover.

For my test binding stiff manilla board were cut and lined on one side, channels were cut into the inside to accommodate the four binding tapes so that no impression of the tapes would be visible once bound. The tapes were also cut through to the front and inlaid.

I won't describe the complicated fiddly process in any greater depth as there are many very talented bookbinders who can describe and demonstrate their skills without my novice attempts leading you on the wrong path.

I had decided that I would print conventionally on the right hand face (recto), etching, text on the left (verso), but that would leave two blank pages between each new page. I couldn't print text onto the reverse of the etching as it would ruin the image, but I could print letterpress onto the reverse side (recto) of the text opposite the image?

With the test binding complete, my basic attempt was helpful in showing the page size, text area and other important aspects of the book, but I knew I would need the professional touch of a craftsman bookbinder and the expertise of a professional book binder to bring to fruition my ideas.

I had seen examples of bound books by Smith Settle of Yeadon, West Yorkshire and had been

greatly impressed with the style and finish of their books. Emails, although very handy cannot replace the face-to-face encounter: I needed to visit with my rough binding example to discover if I needed to alter anything and what requirements they had of me.

I had etched and printed six of the finished pages, along with the title page. I knew how many pages were going to be in the book. I needed to see the professionals.

The initial meeting took place in August 2016 at their place of work. Tracey Thorne would be my person of contact I am indebted to her for her kind explanations and patience.

In my trial binding I had attached endpapers similar to those I had used in a previous book Beggars Bridge. Normally an endpaper is glued after stitching to the volume, then glued into position on the front and back cover. It soon became apparent that a heavier weight of paper was required to form the book. With so many pages the weight could cause a problem. As they were individual sheets, text on two sides and an image on the third they were unlike sections or folded sheets, they would have to be individually sewn onto tapes, rounded, then glued, backed and a headband attached, and then the cover made.

By choosing a box would also offer greater protection to the enclosed book. What I didn't want was a box sitting on a shelf without any inscription upon it, looking like a box file; it warranted some sort of decoration.

A Solander box is made in such a way that it resembles a book. It opens revealing the finished book which will sit on the right-hand side with the title on the cover. The left-hand side would normally be a blank infill of paper. Discussing the mechanics of binding with Tracey was both revealing and exciting with several new possibilities that perhaps I could incorporate. On the way back home ideas were beginning to formulate. I now had several things to sort, endpapers to design and print, a contents page, an acknowledgements page. The bookbinding would take between three and four weeks from handing the folded sheets over to them to completion. It was now late August which left just seven months to complete the project.

I still needed to find subjects for some of the letters.

Samples were proffered, examples of bindings shown, a most delightful afternoon spent with professional people who were confident that my proposed book wasn't impossible to achieve. In discussion with them it occurred to me that the paper, with its delicate deckle edges, needed greater protection than just a hardcover.

There were two possibilities available to me, either a slipcase or a Solander box. The slipcase would expose the spine, but wouldn't give the right sense of importance that I wanted. In the end I chose to have a much more complex Solander box made.

The test binding

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Endpapers Having discovered that the endpapers needed to be of the same weight as the actual pages of the book, I started to search for alternative handmade papers that were of an equal size and weight, to the Hahnemuhle 300 gsm. R.K.Burt have been my suppliers of hand- made printmaking papers for the last 40 years.

Searching their website there were one or two alternative papers that could be used.

I needed to create a repeatable pattern, one that suggested a connection to Scarborough. Seven sample lino blocks were cut on a small scale (3 x 4 inches). By inking these samples and printing them on the Albion press I would be able to see how the finished endpaper would look.

Endpaper pattern after printing

After several false starts, lots of ink and a few frustrating days I finally settled on a wave pattern. More testing took place: too much white, it required underprinting first. Inking the extra large block would need a larger diameter roller than those I already possessed. A large spindle roller would be required.

Cutting the desired repeatable pattern into the large sheet of lino was the first task. I then etched the lino block with caustic soda to soften the hard lines. The underprinting block couldn't be lino, an alternative had to be found. I had used 3-ply before in several large lino cuts to create a texture, after several more experiments I had the solution. Printing two colours rolled together with the new spindle roller, I could cover the blocks, both the underprinting and the pattern block.

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I had to make sure that the whole sheet of paper was covered, which in turn meant that the blocks were one centimetre larger than the paper, which in turn meant again I had to cover each print with newsprint paper so that the tympan wasn't marked. The first block of 3-ply was wire brushed to raise the texture I wanted, then sandpapered flat, then washed, then dried and eventually placed on the bed of the press. A large quantity of ink was prepared, half of which was mixed with opaque white, I blended the colours on the roller: let printing commence.

I'd calculated that I would need to over print (in case of mistakes), so 75 sheets were to be printed. The amount of pressure to print such a block was immense: knee braced against the runners, it would take some effort to pull the handle which lowered the platen.

The pages were left on the drying rack until bone dry.

Three days later it was time to print the final 'master block'; the repeated pattern. I wanted all the pages to have the deckle at the top, so I arranged the paper ready to print and once again mixed a large quantity of ink, halved the amount and mixed one half with opaque white.

The first print wasn't printing right, there were hollows in it. I then had to make-ready the block. Make-ready involves packing the underside of the block to raise it sufficiently for it to print well.

Inked roller ready to print.

The printing presses I am very fortunate to have a collection of four antique printing presses from the 19th century that I use to create my limited edition prints.

All the etchings were printed using a Rochat etching press, bed size 26 x 48 inches. It is a glorified mangle: by turning the large wheel the bed of the press (white in the photograph) moves between two steel rollers that compress the damp hand-made paper into the minute grooves on the etching plate transferring the image to the paper. It takes 35 revolutions of the wheel to move the bed from one side to the other.

My first press was the Albion, bed size 26 x 34 inches, purchased in 1974 and weighing just short of two tons. Made of cast iron in 1889, it was used for printing the large linocut The Headland and several of the pages of text. The press can also be used for printing wood engravings.

To operate the press the image to be printed is laid on the bed of the press, ink is applied by roller to the surface of the print or text, paper is laid in position and the tympan is lowered to cover the paper. A tympan is a hinged frame the size of the bed and is covered with stiff paper or canvas to protect the paper during printing.

By turning a handle called a rounce, the bed is carried on two rails to a position underneath the platen.

A large lever with a wooden handle is then pulled towards the printer, this in turn lowers the platen which makes contact with the tympan. Great pressure is applied, this transfers the ink onto the paper. Rewinding the rounce brings the bed from under the platen, the tympan is raised and the paper removed from the image or text. The text or image then needs re-inking and the whole process starts again and continues until the required number of impressions has been achieved.

The Columbian platen press was used for printing more of the text and the wood engravings within the book and works in just the same way as an Albion.

Rochat etching press, purchased in 1977

Albion Platen Press 1889

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Lino printing Linocut is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum sometimes mounted on a wooden block is used for a relief surface.

A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped chisel or gouge with the raised (uncarved) areas representing a reversed mirror image of the parts to show printed. The linoleum sheet is inked with a thin layer of ink using a roller. The paper is then laid on top of the inked block and if using a printing press the two surfaces are squashed together which transfers the ink to the paper.

Another method of printing without a press is to ink the lino as mentioned above, lay the paper on top of the design, cover with a thin protective sheet of paper, then using a burnishing tool (or barren) rub the back of the paper, which transfers the design onto the paper.

A more risky method of printmaking with lino is to cut away any areas of the block one wants to remain white. The whole block is then printed in a base light colour; the whole edition is printed in one go. The second step is to cut away more of the lino then re-ink in a different colour and over- print onto the first colour. It's often referred to as the 'suicide' method as there is no going back: each layer of lino removed cannot be replaced. The block will be cut several times; each area once removed is printed in a different colour. Many printings take place until the desired effect is achieved.

My Albion platen press 1889 Leeds foundry

I rarely employ the 'suicide' method preferring to cut a 'master block' then cut more blocks for each colour, a little like making a jigsaw puzzle.

Using this method I can overprint many colours.

Once all the blocks are cut I start to print.

After the edition of prints is completed the blocks are destroyed.

Lino block during cutting

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Wood engraving Engravers use a hardened steel tool called a burin or graver to cut the design into the surface, most traditionally a boxwood block.

Gravers come in a variety of shapes and sizes that yield different line types. The burin produces a unique and recognisable quality of line that is characterized by its steady, deliberate appearance and clean edges.

The angle tint tool has a slightly curved tip that is commonly used in printmaking. Florentine liners are flat-bottomed tools with multiple lines incised into them, used to do fill work on larger areas. Flat gravers are used for doing fill work on letters, as well as most musical instrument engraving work. Round gravers are commonly used on silver to create bright cuts, as well as other hard-to-cut metals such as nickel and steel.

Burins are either square or elongated diamondshaped and used for cutting straight lines. Other tools such as mezzotint rockers, roulets and burnishers are used for texturing effects.

Originally, there was only hand engraving. In that process the burin is held in the hand with the handle in the palm of the hand. The point of a new tool is snapped off to a length just longer than the engraver's fingers, and the point reground. The actual engraving is done by a combination of pressure and manipulating the workpiece. In addition, there are engraving machines. They are usually used for lettering, using a pantographic system.

In the book There are four wood engravings included with the book. North Bay, Scarborough is printed into the pages and glued into the Solander box (left side), and South Bay, Scarborough , is used in both the book and left-hand side of the Solander box.

St. Mary's, Scarborough is printed on the front face of the acknowledgement page, and a special block purely to announce the book printed on the acknowledgement page along with another Alphabet image.

Original wood engraving North Bay, Scarborough

Used to decorate the Solander box (recto) and included in the book

Hand engraving a block on a sandbag Original wood engraving South Bay, Scarborough.

Used to decorate the Solander box (verso) and included in the book 10

Letterpress Letterpress is the oldest form of printing. A surface with raised letters is inked and pressed to the surface of the paper to reproduce an image in reverse. Typically, metal type has been used but other possibilities include carved wood or stone blocks.

The Gutenberg press introduced moveable type to the process in the 15th century: letterpress was the predominant printing method for the next 500 years.

With better paper quality and faster presses in the 19th century, coupled with the introduction of the education act, the printing of books increased.

William Morris was horrified by the new 'fast' printing and founded the Kelmscott Press to re-establish the 'art of the book' .

By the 1950's, lithography had begun to replace letterpress printing and by the end of the 20th century, this tried-and-tested method of printing was almost non existent.

However, the old method of letterpress printing is enjoying a resurgence among modern-day enthusiasts who prize the hand-made qualities and historical nature of letterpress print. My collection of moveable type has been collected over many years: the alphabet was going to need something special. Did I have enough type to set a full page? I'd calculated that each page would have somewhere in the region of two hundred words, I needed to construct a page. It soon became evident that I need to buy some fonts of type.

The type faces available via The Oxford Guild of Printers were two fonts: Times Italic and Bodoni Italic both were 18 point, so not too small and they looked good together which would allow me to 'marry' the type and use the differences to accentuate a point.

Rollers and burins/gravers 11

Text locked into a chase ready for printing on the bed of the Albion press.

Once the new type had arrived I set them out in some empty type cases I had as they arrived 'pied' (loose). It would take many hours to sort them properly before the setting of a page could commence. I needed to set one page at a time, print the required number, then take it all apart and set the next page.

Being the publisher I had total control of how the book would look, including the layout of the text. No two pages are laid out the same, the most obvious being B for Beach Huts, the text is arranged in the shape of a pitched roof to resemble the huts themselves. Play time for me.

Inking the completed text set in a chase on the bed of the press

Etching The first known etching is attributed 1456.

The print called Christ crowned with thorns is displayed in the British Museum. The process of etching has not changed during all those years. Etching is a process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface which creates a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In etching, a metal, copper, zinc or steel plate is covered with a waxy ground which is resistant to acid. The artist then scratches off the ground with a pointed needle where he or she wants a line to appear in the finished piece, so exposing the bare metal. The plate is then dipped in a bath of acid, called the mordant for 'biting' or etching. The acid bites into the metal where it has been exposed, leaving behind lines incised in the plate. The remaining ground is then cleaned off the plate. Another process called aquatint is then employed to add tonal areas to the plate and etched in the same manner.

Once completed the plate is inked all over and the excess ink removed from the surface, leaving a fine deposit of the ink in the etched lines. The plate is then put through a highpressure printing press together with a sheet of paper which has been moistened to soften it. The paper picks up the ink from the etched lines, making a print, and the plate is then re-inked before another impression is taken.

My Rochat etching press, bed size 26 x 48 inches

Lifting the print from the plate

The process can be repeated many times; typically many impressions (copies) could be printed before the plate shows much sign of wear.

States of an etching Typically an artist will work on a plate, take a print then has the option of adding more lines or tones to the plate. After each reworking of the image a new print or impression is taken. There can be several reworkings of an etching, all are called 'states' and are usually numbered accordingly.

Editioning Once the artist is satisfied with the image the process of editioning commences. Often at the outset the number of prints to be taken from a plate is decided; this is called the edition.

The fraction 1/30 denotes that the print is number 1 is in an edition of 30. Once the editioning is complete the plate is marked in such a way that it cannot be reproduced again in the same state.

Once the printing of the edition is complete the artist signs the work in the following format.

1/30 Title Artists signature To create one impression takes thirty-five turns of the wheel on my etching press.

Printing over 600 images was going to be a long job.

Paper I had chosen the paper, Hahnemuhle 300 g/ m2 (140lbs) Nat, I had calculated the quantity I would need for the alphabet pages (806) which included title page, acknowledgement page and contents page.

Given a 10% mistake rate I needed to order a ream of paper (500) sheets. The weight of a paper is calculated by the amount it weighs when in a stack or ream. So my chosen paper would weigh 140lbs.

To print the extra edition of loose prints I would need a further 185 sheets, torn into quarters. So a grand total of 628 sheets would be needed to complete the whole mammoth printing job. I placed my order for 850 sheets of paper.

The chosen paper would need to be damp for printing both the etchings and the text, in such a large amount I would need to find a way of keeping the paper at a consistent dampness for several hours at a time. If one stacks damp paper the edges can start to dry out whilst the centre remains soggy.

I had been used to damping the required number of sheets of paper to print my editions by immersion in a bath of water.

Holding the paper by a corner allowed any excess to drip off, then laid between dry blotting paper to remove the excess, then another wet sheet, then more blotting paper.

The blotting paper could be reused, but would start to crinkle after repeated use.

Richard-Gabriel Rummonds is the grand master of iron press printing: surely he would have a solution, I scoured his books for any sign of a damp box of some sort.

Although he writes about the benefits of damp printing, he didn't offer many solutions. I emailed him and received news of another fine printer and his book. Lewis M. Allen, an American printer, had written a book called Printing with the Handpress published in 1960, but out of print. I finally tracked a copy of this book down in a bookstore in Atlanta, U.S.A. Purchasing it unseen I hoped with fingers crossed that there would be some description of keeping large quantities of hand-made paper damp for an elongated length of time. I wanted to damp up to 60 sheets at a time.

The completed humidor, version 2

Eventually the book arrived and to my delight on page 52, there was a vivid description of 'Humidors for maintaining paper dampness'.

The next day I attempted to make such a box or humidor, half the size I required, mainly because I wanted to test how good or bad it was. The terminology was different, American, but I got the gist of it and made the box out of oddments in the workshop.

The testing began. I damped ten sheets of paper, closed the box and waited. To my delight the paper remained evenly damp for up to three days. I proceeded to make another box with better materials, a few inches larger than the paper I knew I was going to use; the results were even more impressive.

Allen writes about using a diffuser to damp the paper overnight, I thought I'd try his method of evenly damping the paper prior to printing. After a week of experiments I was convinced that my new humidor and method of damping was perfect.

Water is another consideration. Tap water contains impurities that can, in time damage the paper. I needed an unadulterated source of pure water with which to damp the handmade paper. A dehumidifier provides copious amounts of clean water and I have one in my paper store; here was a ready supply. I was set to print.

Drying and flattening printed sheets One of the problems after printing on damp hand made paper is the drying process. Some printmakers use brown gummed paper and stretch the paper. The same method is used when a watercolour artist stretches their paper before painting. Once stretched, the paper no matter how much watercolour paint one uses will always return to its flat state. If you wet paper and just leave it to dry naturally the paper will wave or wrinkle.

Printing the alphabet I couldn't use the gummed paper method as it leaves a residue on the edge of the paper; also it would destroy the deckle edge which was something I wanted to preserve.

Ever since I worked in a professional print workshop abroad and witnessed their drying process I have used a similar method, with the odd tweak here and there, to maintain flatness of my printed work.

Once printed I leave the finished article on my drying rack overnight. The next morning most of the dampness has evaporated, the ink has dried, but the paper is starting to wave or cockle, I then move the prints into my drying room, which has a dehumidifier and place the prints face-up on clean white blotting paper. I place several clean sheets of blotting paper on top of the prints, then another set of prints, then more paper until I have a stack of six prints within thirty or more sheets of dry blotting paper.

The stack, inserted cards showing how many prints are drying On top of this stack I place a board of MDF cut to the same size as the blotting paper, then start to make another stack of prints, then another MDF board until all the prints are sandwiched between clean sheets of dry paper. Placing a heavy weight on top of the completed stack helps with a great downward pressure.

The next day, I remove the blotting paper and replace with fresh clean sheets. This process is repeated for three days until the prints are bone dry and as flat as a pancakes.

Once the prints have dried they are moved up to the store further up the garden where they are placed in plan chests, counted and checked for mistakes and ink offset. Then the whole process starts again with the next set of printed sheets.

There is a fashion (health and safety, I think) for non-toxic inks, i.e. water based, to which one mixes additives to assist in the drying. I've never really got to grip with them, old school perhaps, but I prefer light fast, oil-based ink which doesn't bleed, doesn't smudge and will not scratch.

Unfortunate mistakes occurred: a print would not dry flat no matter how much water I doused it with. Any poor prints would be discarded during the printing process. I was rapidly exceeding my 10% calculation for spoilt prints, but pressed on regardless.

Image and text of a completed page drying and starting to wave after a night on the rack.

The completed book (right) with interior of Solander box (left)

Open Solander box showing two wood engravings. North Bay and South Bay Scarborough

An Alphabet of Scarborough A limited edition book depicting 26 images of Scarborough, each letter being illustrated with an image of the town.

Illustrations are either etchings, lino prints or engravings hand printed onto Hahnemuhle 140lbs Nat surface fine paper using an 1889 Albion platen press and an 1845 Columbian platen press.

Text hand set in 18pt Times Italic and 18pt Bodoni Italics.

Etchings printed by hand on a Rochat etching press.

The edition The completed book will only be printed in an edition of 26 fully bound copies. There will be no artist's proof copies.

The images will be further printed in an edition of 26 copies of which 25 will be for sale. These will be used for exhibition purposes and sold separately except for certain numbers in each edition which will be presented to the book purchasers as a complimentary print, placed in a folder underneath the book in the Solander box.

Each book purchaser will be able to choose which edition number they would like to be included as their complimentary print.

Spine of the Solander box

The binding.

Folded and gathered, sewn to mull by hand, attached endpapers nipped and glued. Head and tail band linen to Oxford hollows. Wassa leather spine with gold blocking An Alphabet of Scarborough cloth sides.

Two-tray Solander box, covered with cloth and lined with designed endpapers hand printed by the artist.

Hand bound by Smith Settle of Yeadon, West Yorkshire to my specification.

Approximate size of bound book 400 x 280 x 40 mm (16 x 11 inches)

The Headland, Scarborough Medium: lino-cut Image size: 305 x 460 mm Four colours Total printings 315 Hours 38

I wanted the book to include an image of the headland, a predominant visual feature of Scarborough. I have viewed the headland and the shape of it for many years, cycled round it, walked it and even roller skated it in the past. It is such a familiar place that I wanted to include it as part of the book as a taster of things to come.

This is the only double spread image in the book. I had considered the problem that part of the image would be sewn through, but I feel it still gives a sense of size and a grand beginning to the book.

17

Method: The black 'master' block was cut first (in reverse), proofed several times during the cutting, then printed once onto tracing paper.

The image was offset onto a sheet of 3-ply, this was then cut and would become the beige colour.

After off-setting the 'master' onto another sheet of lino the green block was cut, and lastly the blue of the sea. Printing order was: the beige first, then blue, next the green and finally the black.

Sixty copies were printed, eight were discarded as failures, twenty-six for the book and an edition of twenty-six to be exhibited.

The shape is accurate, but I might have missed out some houses on the left.

I moved to Scarborough in 1977 and have visited the Art Gallery many times since, especially when there is a handing in day, or collection day from an 'open exhibition'. It was the natural choice for the letter A. This picture is one of those days I have chosen to depict when prospective artists are either arriving or leaving with their pictures tucked under their arms. This is perhaps the fourth time I've etched a picture of the Art Gallery. I knew I had to come up with something a little different than other views I had done previously.

A is for Art Gallery Medium: etching and aquatint Image size: 207 x 294 mm Single colour + 3 spot colours Total printings 124 Hours 55 Word count: 141 Alternative title: The Hopefuls

As one walks through the Crescent Gardens towards the Art Gallery, just before you descend the steps and pass through the wrought iron gates, this imposing building (once a private house) stands majestically on the curve of the road. It reminds me of the Tirzah Ravilious picture The Crocodile.

I wanted to use the contrast of the ironwork against the building. I included the people in my picture to give a scale to the image. The spot colour is used to draw ones eye to a certain part of the picture.

1st proof next to aquatinted plate

Method: Hand drawn onto a hard ground, etched in

nitric acid, proofed, drypoint, proofed. Aquatint laid, bitten with Dutch mordant, proofed, burnished, engraved.

The completed page

18

The beach huts in both the North and

B is for Beach Huts Medium: Engraving with lino blocks Image size: 200 x 300 mm Total printings 346 Hours 78 Word count: 186

Alternative title : Gone for Ice Creams

South Bay are the descendants of the horse drawn bathing huts used in Victorian times.

They are certainly English in nature: these individually coloured 'home from home' wooden buildings are painted in bright colours. I love how differently the occupants use their particular space. Some decorate with posters of sea animals, palm tree pictures, signs that welcome visitors and the occasional 'keep out' sign. On warmer days the barbecue appears, with accompanying aromas. Such a pleasure to see families enjoying the bracing sea air.

My picture shows two empty deckchairs; the occupants have gone to buy ice creams.

Somebody is flying a kite, a very British seaside experience.

Method: The first block (black) to be cut was the engraving, which proved more difficult than first imagined. Unlike wood engraving the plastic engraving block doesn't cut easily, it burrs, leaving raised sections which have to be removed.

Due to the size of the image I had to invest in a spindle roller of larger dimensions to ink the block successfully.

Once proofed lino blocks were cut to fit the shapes, a little like creating a coloured jigsaw.

The lino colours were printed first, allowed to dry and finally the black engraving.

19

I wanted the show how popular the cliff lift is by including lots of people going about their daily business. The building behind the lift is the Grand Hotel which towers above it.

The same company has owned this lift since it was built in 1873. At one time there were five lifts or funiculars in Scarborough, only two now operate, one next to the Spa and the one in my picture which is above St Nicholas Gardens.

I like the activity which surrounds the building, people with shopping bags, more people in the outdoor cafe. During the summer season the place is very busy, mums with pushchairs who don't fancy the long walk to the top of the cliff. It's good to see that not everything from a bygone era not everything has been demolished.

C is for Cliff lift Medium: Etching and aquatint Image size: 203 x 244mm Total printings: 86 Hours: 28 Word count: 135 Alternative title: Waiting for a Friend

Method: This is a hard ground etching with aquatint. The plate is covered with hard ground into which I drew the image (in reverse). Total bite time twenty three minutes over six bites.

A fine rosin aquatint bitten for 95 seconds in Dutch mordant created the various tones on the plate. A fine soft ground texture was applied in the foreground, with a small amount of burnishing to create some more contrast and finally some engraving.

20

Dean Road Cemetery houses perhaps the greatest variety of styles of headstones in Scarborough. Opened in the 19th century it was reported that it was of such a pleasing design that people would flock there and take picnics.

I've cycled through this cemetery for many years, slowing down to read the inscriptions: sailors, war veterans loved ones, masonry angels looking skyward. The young and the old, they are all there, lovingly restored by the volunteers who maintain it.

D is for Dean Road Cemetery Medium: Etching and aquatint Image size: 195 x 280 mm Total printings: 86 Hours: 26 Word count: 168 Alternative title: The Picnic

This image created a fond memory of when my grandmother would organize a yearly visit to her local cemetery to visit her husband. The colour of the dress worn by the figure to the left is the same colour that I remember from then, something to do with it not showing stains!

I've shaped the etching plate to resemble one of the headstones.

A cat chases some pigeons whilst a couple embrace on the right, and another couple enjoy a picnic.

Method: Hard ground etching, four immersions in nitric acid, total time twelve and a half minutes.

Aquatint for tone, medium grain eight immersions in nitric acid, total time seventythree seconds.

Burnishing (creating contrasts) took another three hours to achieve the effect I wanted.

Proofed four times, as an oblong plate, two more proofs were taken, on both of them I cut the print at the top of the image to emulate the plate being cut into different shapes, then placed the cut out print on white paper to see if I liked the potential plate shape. Reminds me of one of the headstones I'd seen.

Total proofs: nine

21

The Esplanade Gardens in the South Bay are part of a series of gardens with several paths meandering through them. I've walked through these gardens many times. I particularly like the seated huts that are dotted about. I presume they once had really good views of the sea, but with the growth of trees it is almost obscured.

The picture I chose to represent is behind the Spa complex, one of the resting places which I imagine was frequented by Victorian ladies in floor-touching dresses.

Health and safety these days most probably installed the wooden fences that stop one from dropping off the path. Two figures are seen walking along the path; I like the undulating pathway, and managed to clip in a bit of sea.

The trees have wonderful shapes having been battered by high winds in winter they contort into different angles.

E is for Esplanade Gardens Medium: Etching and aquatint Image size: 195 x 280 mm Total printings: 143 Hours: 31 Word count: 153

Method: Line drawing through hard ground, total bite time with four immersions in nitric acid sixteen minutes. Bevelled the plate then proofed.

Aquatint medium grains, six immersions in the acid bath, total time of eighty-five seconds.

Several areas were burnished to lighten a particular area. Proofed in four different shades of green before decision time and editioning.

Total proofs: six

1st line proof before aquatint

22

Once a year on Boxing Day the fishermen and firemen hold a charitable football game on the South Bay beach. It is a tradition that started over 100 years ago after a ship sank during a storm and the crew were lost.

The crew were all married men with children, the locals started the football match to gather money which would be used to help the widows and children of those who had perished. Initially it was held on Christmas Day, but moved to Boxing Day some years later. Nowadays they collect money in an ingenious manner by constructing a mile of copper coins which are laid on the kerbstone.

In my image the ball isn't anywhere to be seen (guess the spot); a fireman bends over to tie his boot lace while the eager supporters watch on.

F is for Foreshore Football Medium: Etching and aquatint Image size: 212 x 232 mm Total printings: 85 Hours: 22 Word count: 187

I like the placing of the Castle and headland in the background to give greater scale to the picture, with a muddle of buildings in the mid-ground and longish shadows from the players. I particularly liked doing all the trees on the headland.

Alternative title: Firemen versus Fishermen

Method: Line drawing through hard ground, total bite time with four immersions in nitric acid fifteen minutes. Bevelled the plate then proofed.

Aquatint medium grains, five immersions in the acid bath total time of eighty-five seconds.

Several areas were burnished to lighten.

Proofed in four different shades of blue before decision time and editioning.

Total proofs: eight

23

The full page with text from the book

Method: Line etching in Dutch mordant, total bite time thirty-six minutes, bevelled and then proofed.

Second line etching ground laid, more drawing for finer lines, bite time twelve minutes in Dutch mordant. Several areas were burnished with a little dry point.

G is for Grand Hotel Medium: Etching and aquatint Image size: 190 x 276 mm Total printings: 142 Hours: 25 Word count: 176

Alternative title: The Happy Couple

Aquatint medium/heavy rosin, immersion in Dutch mordant, total bite time with five immersions one minute thirty-eight seconds.

Several proofs were taken, mainly to get the colour right, then I tried cutting out the proofs in different shapes. Originally I had envisaged that both sides of the plate around the building would be cut to mirror the building, but after trial and error decided on just one side.

The Grand Hotel, built around the notion of the seasons: 365 rooms, four towers to represent the four seasons and so it goes on. It was the largest brick built building when completed anywhere in Europe. I didn't want a 'usual' view of the Grand, so chose a view from below to give height to the building The couple in the picture are there to help give scale: they look like a happy couple, hence the alternative title.

24

Knickerbocker Glory, toasted sandwiches, milky coffee, bright red bar stools and yellow formica: 50's heaven and delicious ice cream.

I've been visiting the Harbour Bar ever since I arrived in Scarborough, so it only seemed natural to include it for the letter H in the book.

It's a step back in time, no credit cards here, thank you very much, bright yellow uniforms and white ones for the senior staff. So many people can be crammed into this doublefronted enclave to sample the various wares on offer. But don't try visiting in November, after a busy season they retire on masse for a well earned rest ( I presume).

H is for Harbour Bar Image size: 200 x 300 mm Total printings: 396 Hours: 94 Word Count: 133 Alternative title: Knickerbocker Glory

Method: The black master shape was cut first on engraving plastic which I mounted on some MDF cut to the same size. Once proofed the image was offset onto lino blocks which were then cut to match the individual colour sections.

Starting with the largest area of colour the total edition of sixty impressions was printed in one go, then left to dry for two days, then the second colour applied in the same until all the colours were in place. Then the black master block was printed over the colour. Drying became an issue as each layer of ink took longer to dry.

25

My picture depicts one of the young ladies walking towards the viewer clutching a cone, whilst another rests her weary feet by leaning on the back counter. Above hang the many certificates of excellence that the venue has won over the years.

Several film crews have frequented the place in years past and usually occupy the cushioned seating at the far end.

The Italian Gardens in the South Bay are a hidden gem to behold; the statue of Mercury presides over the ornamental pond.

It is reputed that when the garden was being designed that the engineer asked one of his workers to pose for the statue.

This was the first picture I did for the Alphabet; great fun doing the water and the shadow. It's a secret place with tall trees in the background, lots of seats and formally laid-out gardens.

It's a good place to sit and enjoy the surroundings. i contemplated putting people in the picture but decided against as i just like the view. It's never very busy so do take a trip to see it.

I is for Italian Gardens Image size: 210 x 290mm Total printings: 132 Hours: 64 Word Count: 170 Alternative title: Mercury's Shadow

Method: Hard ground etching on zinc, line bites eighteen ,minutes, fine-medium aquatint laid, total bite time in nitric acid one hundred and seventy-five seconds.

Burnishing time three and half hours. Printed in raw umber colour medium copper plate oil.

Proofs: eight

The original plans were drawn by Alexander Taylor, the borough surveyor, and the architect was William Baldwin Stewart.

Not content with a merely functional and conventional design, Stewart treated Scarborough to a machicolated, stone gateway flanked by Gothic lodges, complete with arrow-slits for imaginary archers and chains for a non-existent drawbridge. On the parapet above the gate there was a circular stone plaque displaying the borough seal. The jail closed in 1878 and prisoners were transferred to either York or Hull.

I like this building, I pondered for ages as to which view I wanted to capture. Should I put people in it, what would they be doing, could I weave a story into it?

J is for Jail Image size: 206 x 265mm Total printings: 78 Hours: 27 Word count: 166

Method: Line etching with hard ground, total bite time in nitric acid thirty-four minutes in five bites.

Medium aquatint laid, eight bites totalling one hundred and eighty-seven seconds.

Small amount of burnishing to complete, then hand engraving to darken areas.

Proofs: seven Colour proofs: six

27

In the end I decided to leave as is, a testament to a bygone age, majestic in its stature. I like the railings which stand outside and the cobbled entrance. There is no wonder it was used recently as a film set.

The Keep of Scarborough Castle dominates the skyline from whichever angle you view it: be it North side or South side it is distinctive and eyecatching. The headland has been occupied in one form or another for three thousand years.

The castle itself was started in 1138 by William le Gros, besieged several times throughout its history, and finally left in its present state during the Civil War, so that it could no longer be used for defensive means.

I've always liked stone, cobbles and old buildings, the image of the Keep was kept high in the composition to accentuate the stature of it. The everpresent seagulls soar above and beyond whilst a young man is trying to entice his lady friend to look further into the site.

K is for Keep Image size: 204 x 241mm Total printings: 166 Hours: 33 Word count: 151

Plate ready for printing with guide

Method: Line etching in Dutch mordant, four bites in total of twenty-four minutes.

Soft ground laid on cobbled area, light bite of two minutes, Aquatint total bite time ninety-five seconds.

Burnished several times, proofs twelve, engraved in certain areas.

The completed page

28

The lighthouse, apart from being an incredibly important functioning building, is visible in the South Bay from many places.

I wanted to create a print more from the water line and so descended the steps to the water's edge. I wanted the looming stature of the lighthouse to be predominant. The figures were added to bring human scale to the image; the local residents do not like the idea of anyone feeding the seagulls, so it's a bit cheeky to even mention them. I really like the iron ladders on the right-hand side: so dense.

L is for Lighthouse Image size: 177 x 304mm Total printings: 125 Hours: 64 Word count: 179 Alternative title: Feeding Seagulls

1st line proof with pencil for tone guide

Method:

Line etching with nitric acid, hard ground, four bites totalling twenty-four minutes, proofed.

Soft ground laid with crushed tissue texture, bitten with Dutch mordant. Proofed.

Burnished areas to lighten over biting.

Medium/coarse grain aquatint laid, seven immersions in the acid bath (nitric) total time two minutes and ten seconds, proofed, then burnished.

Several proofs to achieve correct colour.

Soft ground texture proof

29

Marine Drive is an engineering marvel, carried out by literally hundreds of men with the added perils of the North Sea to contend with. The initial estimate to complete the work in hand was three years and a few months: In reality it took ten years, ten months and ten days.

It caused a lot of anxiety for the engineer, especially when a year after its opening on a particularly bad night during a storm, a large section of the Drive opened up leaving a huge crack some 400 feet long.

Scarborians will tell you of their escapades on Marine Drive, be it walking, cycling, roller skating, running or jogging. With access to the beach there are dog walkers, sandcastle builders: you name it, I'm sure it has happen there.

M is for Marine Drive Image size: 190 x 290 mm Total printings: 122 Hours: 28 Word count: 166

My picture shows a dog walker, a surfer who has quit his exertions for the day and a young man sitting gazing out to the waves in the bay.

I like the shadows that the railings cast on the concrete, and I put in the scarf with the hearts on it to offer a puzzle to the viewer. The headland rises to the right; the Castle isn't viewable. The rock formation to protect the Drive is visible whilst the ever-present seagulls do what seagulls do in the background.

The text is shaped to represent the headland rising from the sea.

Method: Line etching with hard ground, total bite time in nitric acid thirty-six minutes in five bites.

Medium aquatint laid, eight bites totalling 185 seconds.

Large amounts of burnishing to complete, then more hand engraving.

Proofs: eight Colour proofs: four

30

How many times have I driven past this scene and thought 'those chaps must have the best job in Scarborough, wearing blue overalls, oily rags in hand and tinkering with engines'.

Perhaps they are volunteers who have spent their working lives on the railway lines of Great Britain, I don't know, but an enviable job nevertheless ( if you're a man).

The train ride isn't a particulary long one, but the experience is worth a try. Opened on May 23rd 1931, closed during the Second World War, but otherwise has entertained hundreds of people over the years. There are four dieselhydraulic engines and one steam engine.

My picture shows one of the railwaymen tending to something on the footplate. The carriages are stationed behind in the distance. The day I went down to find a picture was so sunny; I couldn't resist the shadows on the engine house.

N is for North Bay Railway Image size: 200 x 247mm Total printings: 106 Hours: 37 Word count: 153

The man is there to show that it isn't a full-size engine, more human scale. I've thinned out the trees and made more of a design of them as I knew the foreground was going to be rather dark. The interior of the engine shed is mysteriously dark; well it must be as there is always a light on inside.

Method: Line etching with hard ground, total bite time in nitric acid twenty-six minutes in six bites.

Medium aquatint laid, seven bites totalling two hundred and forty-six seconds.

Large amounts of burnishing to complete, then more hand engraving.

Proofs: eight

Colour proofs: three

31

Oliver's Mount is noted for its motorcycle races which take place every year. The name derives from Oliver Cromwell who is supposed to have positioned guns on the Mount during the civil war, but this hasn't been confirmed as fact.

Being an ex motorcycle rider I was excited by the idea of doing a motorcycle picture; Oliver's Mount with its connection to racing fitted the bill perfectly.

The image I have chosen is of two racers, the numbers ten and fourteen are personally significant. They are heading round monument corner.

O is for Oliver's Mount Image size: 190 x 293 mm Total printings: 164 Hours:26 Word Count: 153

My first idea was to put the monument in the picture, but nice as it is, it doesn't lend itself to the picture, so I've included it as a shadow cast across the corner. Three observers stand in the garden of the cafe (which I've moved a bit, could be called artistic license, but its for composition purposes). I also wanted to include the sea in the picture, so trees which obscure the sea view have been removed. The shaped plate was created to soften the hard edges of the image; when I had proofed it as a portrait shaped oblong the blank space of the sky didn't feel right, more proofs were taken and various shapes tried, this shape won.

Method: Line bite of eighteen minutes in nitric acid, five bites in all.

Aquatint a little coarser than normal, eight bites in total of two hundred and five seconds.

Slight burnishing to foreground and figures in the garden area.

Proofs: one line, eight aquatint.

32

Peasholm Park: boating, ducks, geese and seagulls. A perfect place to take small children on a sunny day. Moored in the lake is a bandstand (not shown) and it can be quite entertaining to watch the band members trying to get out of the motor launch onto the stand itself; not an easy task.

One mustn't forget the naval warfare battle that takes place during the summer months, loud bangs, flying airplanes and lots of smoke, the warships manned by council workers from within the boats themselves should be seen at least once.

P is for Peasholm Park Image size: 204 x 290mm Total printings: 143 Hours: 23 Word count: 153

Method: Hard ground line etching in nitric acid, four bites totalling seventeen minutes.

Crushed linen soft ground to water area one-and-a half minutes. Aquatint medium, nitric acid bite, total bite time one hundred and fifteen seconds.

Lots of burnishing to lighten areas, especially the water area which had overbitten.

Nine proofings throughout the whole plate creation .

33

My image is away from the bandstand just before one approaches the warships harbour, the steps leading up to the pagoda on the summit of the manmade hill. I've included two figures in the rowing boat, ducks and geese and the odd seagull; more figures are on the island. The inclusion of the canoe to show that in times past these were the preferred forms of water excursion, I don't like the plastic duck pedaloes (dragons) that now seem to be in the lake, too Disney for my liking.

Shadows played an important part again. It's a romantic picture, the couple in the boat are observed by the chap with the bicycle whilst another couple under the tree are pointing at something.

Another figure observes everything.

I like the shape of the Japanese building on the hill and framed it with trees.

The statue is one of several copies, the others are all over the world. It was commissioned during the 1880's and the original was placed in India; it has since been removed.

I kept wondering why she was facing the town and not looking out to sea. Research did not supply an answer. There is an appeal for local businesses and locals to help restore the statue.

I didn't want a straight view of the statue and I wanted something else to be happening.

Passing the site one Sunday I noticed the couple in the foreground. Not sure if they were together, he was intent on reading his paper.

Another couple sat on one of the raised walls in the background. I had the event I wanted to depict.

The pigeons were added later as a way of breaking up the area. The Town Hall building blocks most of the background, but it's an interesting structure. I like the benches and the single railing in the front of the picture.

Q is for Queen Victoria's Statue Image size: 200 x 287mm Total printings: 135 Hours: 63 Word count: 183 Alternative title: Sunday Morning Papers

Method: Line etching with hard ground, total bite time in nitric acid thirty-eight minutes in six bites.

Medium aquatint laid, seven bites totalling 285 seconds.

Large amounts of burnishing to complete, then more hand engraving.

Proofs: eight

Colour proofs: three

34

This museum has undergone a radical refit and updating within the last few years, it's a unusual building near the sea front between Spa Bridge and Valley Bridge.

Quite often one sees a view of it from the other side with the Grand Hotel in the background, so I purposely wanted to show it from the sea side looking inland towards Crescent Gardens. The steps the chap is walking down are usually behind locked gates, so I've taken them out and have him walking down them from the upper level.

The main entrance is to the right of the lady with the red skirt. Another seated lady is reading whilst sat on the bench and two young boys are heading towards the entrance. The alternative title 'Half-term Outing', which is the sort of thing that parents do with their children.

R is for Rotunda Image size: 202 x 302 mm Total printings: 98 Hours:43 Word count: 197 Alternative title: Half -term Outing Method: Hard ground etching for the line, four bites in total, time seventeen minutes, proof taken.

Aquatint fine to medium, heavy, seven bites in Dutch mordant, total time one hundred and fourteen seconds.

Proofs: three Cut out shape on one of the printed images, then cut plate to match, bevel edges.

Proofs: seven Slight burnishing to foreground.

35

Once the plate was etched and proofed there was such a lot of sky with nothing happening in it. I tried drawing on several proofs various possibilities, but in the end decided to shape the plate to mirror the shape of the building to give it more emphasis.

The Spa Bridge, was built by the company which ran the Spa complex as a means of getting more people to visit. I was familiar with lots of views of the bridge, usually looking the other way from the Spa towards the Grand Hotel, but it missed out the structure. I wanted to show the pillars that support it by looking the other way towards the sea.

My wife Beverley posed for the figure in the picture, again to give scale to the bridge; she is pointing to an incident happening just out of view.

The Canada geese flying above occurred on a separate occasion and they were added to the composition to distract ones eye.

The steps lead to Museum Terrace. I like the image because of there being so many iron railings. I like the blackness of them.

S is for Spa Bridge Image size: 205 x 330mm Total printings: 167 Hours: 57 Word count: 181

Alternative title: Over There

Method: Hard ground line etching, five bites in total, time fifteen minutes.

Proof :one Soft ground etching to walls, time one minute.

Proofs: two.

Fine aquatint, bitten in nitric acid, seven bites lasting seventy-five seconds.

Proofs :three.

Slight burnishing to background.

Proofs: three

Inspecting the text proof

36

The Towers was once the home to Atkinson Grimshaw. He moved from just round the corner from 'Castle By the Sea' after three of his children died and whilst his wife was expecting another child.

Built for a local brewery owner and his family. The prominent skyline building is viewable from most of Scarborough.

The view I've chosen is from the side garden tradesmans entrance which has a locked gate. A woman approaches with a suitcase, I wanted something in the top left-hand corner and chose the bi-plane wing walker which I had seen in the South Bay some months earlier during the Armed Forces Day held in June.

Method: Hard ground line etching, four bites with nitric acid, total time eleven minutes.

Proofed

T is for The Towers Image size: 203 x 250mm Total printings: 132 Hours: 48 Word count: 174 Alternative title: The Visitor

The drawing on the plate prior to etching 37

Aquatint, sky area first in creep bite with liquid stop out varnish.

Second aquatint seven bites in total on 81 seconds.

Mild burnishing to foreground.

U was a difficult letter to find a suitable subject for. I had asked lots of people what could possibly a subject for U to no avail, but eventually Tony Belshaw who would visit on a regular basis came up with the Unitarian church.

I did my usual visit to a possible site and walked around it several times. I quite like the building. Looking from all different angles this is the view I choose, thinking I might put some event happening in the doorway, or even up a ladder.

By chance I was told that a murmuration had been witnessed on the sea front. Two years previously I had been sitting in a car park nearby and witnessed a murmuration occurring around the spire of the Unitarian church. Combining the two I had my picture worked out.

U is for Unitarian Church

Method: Hard ground line etching, four bites with nitric acid total time seventeen minutes.

Proofed Aquatint, seven bites totalling two hundred and twenty-five seconds, sky creep bite with feather.

Mild burnishing wall and brickwork

Image size: 190 x 335mm Total printings: Hours: 34 Word count: 141

Alternative title: A Murmuration

Line etching, first proof 38

Valley Bridge was originally erected over the river Ouse in York, then after some sort of mishap (research inconclusive) it was brought to Scarborough and re-erected. This is a mystery: how can one bring a bridge in parts and erect it in another place? The whole thing of moving a bridge sounds impossible.

During research I found a lot of pictures of the bridge in construction, mainly from the road level, not so many from underneath. It was the underneath that interested me, the pond below, the huge size of it. So this image was chosen, I wanted a very dark underside with shadows trying to portray the sheer magnitude of it.

I've added the mother and child feeding the ducks whilst pigeons descend through the blackness of the underside of the bridge, I needed them to break up the blackness.

Method: Hard ground line etch in Dutch mordant, total bites six, time twenty-four minutes.

V is for Valley Bridge Image size: 202 x 250mm Total printings: 86 Hours: 36 Word count: 145

Aquatint medium heavy nine bites total time 158 seconds.

Burnishing to pond area and part of wall

The completed page

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The Windmill is one of Scarborough's landmarks, seen from many different locations, it really stands out. Originally it did mill corn but after the sails were damaged it ceased wind motion and was converted to another form of power.

After many years and different usages it was finally rescued and converted into a hotel or bed and breakfast establishment. Although I like the building itself I wanted to break up the foreground, the shape was too solid.

As a hotel establishment they would receive visitors to the premises and so the couple were placed against the bushes against the darkened bushes to break them up. She is carrying the suitcase, only because he's a little angry that they hadn't booked, which he should have done, so they have to leave and find new accommodation for the evening.

W is for Windmill

The pigeons or doves were added after the first proof to break up an otherwise blank area. I like the wooden veranda type railing around the building; tall brick built walls create an entrance with cobbled paving contrasted by iron gates.

Image size: 205 x 290 mm Total printings: 134 Hours: 61 Word Count: 157 Alternative title: We Should Have Booked Method: Line etching with hard ground, seven bites in total time of twenty-three minutes.

Proofed Soft ground crushed tissue to wall fronts, time one minute Proofed Aquatint, six bites in total time of one hundred and thirty-four seconds, some burnishing to lighten areas of wall and bushes.

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X93 is a bus service which operates between Scarborough and Middlesbrough, two places I have lived in at certain times, so there was a connection to me. Looking at the route that the bus takes I decided to use a countryside view, and the drawing I already had of the curved fence with gated field behind and wanted to use it as a starting point.

I wanted to include the sea which is just visible in the background. The present day X93 is a double-decker bus. I didn't want that shape so opted for something older and more characterful.

I remember buses like this from my youth, often with a driver and clippy.

The lady waiting at the bus stop is going somewhere, suitcase at the ready, early morning shadows, hence alternative title.

X is for X93

I suppose this picture is more like my normal imagery, I did enjoy doing it.

Image size: 200 x 295mm Total printings: 142 Hours: 32 Word count: 172

Alternative title: The Early Morning Bus

Method: Line etching on hard ground, three bites in total time of fourteen minutes.

Proofed Fine medium aquatint, six bites in total of 140 seconds.

Proofed: twice Burnishing to field on right and bushes, proofed.

Five more proofings to achieve colour I wanted.

Aquatinted plate second bite with stop out varnish 41

Yew Court is a private dwelling in Scalby, converted into five flats in 1962. It's shown as the building behind the scene I've chosen.

The domed structure (one of a pair) is one of the only two listed buildings in Scalby High Street.

This was quite fun to create, pictorially correct.

I wanted to add something and whilst thinking about what would happen in a large private house I came up the idea of a garden party.

There's a bottle perched upon the gate pillar on the left hand side, evidence of a party perhaps the evening before. Three figures are looking for 'The Lost Shoe', the owner being the lady clutching one shoe (red) in the picture, two male colleagues/ friends/lovers are helping her look for it.

Y is for Yew Court.

I'm assuming that Yew Court is named after the yew trees which adorn the gated entrance; research, however, didn't confirm or deny it. I like the contrast of the iron gate against the pale stonework.

Image size: 216 x 252mm Total printings: 162 Hours: 35 Word count: 146 Alternative title: The Lost Shoe Method: Line etching on hard ground, bitten with nitric acid total time nineteen minutes, four bites.

Proofed twice.

Aquatint fine/medium bitten in Dutch mordant, total bite time one hundred and ten seconds.

Proofs: four Slight burnishing to figures, rear buildings. Spot colour.

Proofs: four First line etching proof

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Trying to work out something to do with the letter Z was difficult, the zoo no longer exists and nothing came to mind readily. Tony Belshaw came up the idea of the paths in the St Nicholas Gardens, in particular the zig zag that the paths create, and so this image was conceived.

Anyone who has visited the gardens will appreciate that the paths are not straight, there are steps for the active or gently sloping paths without steps for those who need or want to take it a bit easy.

Alternatively one can take a ride in the cliff lift from the foreshore to the top.

Starting the image I liked the curve of the iron railing and the steps, the Town Hall being visible at the top, which created the scale I wanted. I thought about putting lots of people in it at various stages of their ascent or descent, but the trial drawings looked too complicated and messy.

Z is for Zig Zag Image size: 205 x 304mm Total printings: 157 Hours: 34 Word count: 147 Alternative title: The Gardeners Flask

Method: Line etching on hard ground, nitric acid, five bites total time twenty-one minutes.

Proofs: twice.

Aquatint fine/medium, nitric acid bite totalling one hundred and fifteen seconds.

Proofs: four Burnishing to selected areas, proofed.

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I've ended up with a man with hedge trimmers (presumably) up a ladder of some sort trimming a bush, his jacket and flask being at the bottom of the steps.

The wood engravings St,Mary's, Scarborough English boxwood size 10 x 15 cms. Height 23.32mm ( type high) Time to cut 58 hours, proofed twenty-eight times throughout the cutting period. Printed whilst the paper was damp on the Columbian platen press.

North Bay, Scarborough English lemonwood size 15.2 x 15.2 cms.

Height 23.32 cms. Time to cut 79 hours, proofed thirty-six times over the period of the cutting, printed twice, once in the book and used on the endpaper in the Solander box left-hand side.

South Bay , Scarborough English lemonwood size 15.2 x 15.2 cms.

Height 23.32 cms. Time to cut 137 hours, proofed forty-three times over the period of the cutting. printed twice, once in the book and used on the endpaper in the Solander box right hand side.

I wanted the wood engravings to be additional to the etchings. They were significant to the overall design of the book. I also wanted the Solander box to have a surprise element to it by changing what would have normally been blank pages to include both the bay pictures.

The paper for the interior of the Solander box is Hahnemuhle Bugra Butten a wood free, acid-free, mould-made laid and textured paper 130g/m2, cut from a page size of 52 x 75 cms. The printing of the engravings was carried out using the Columbian platen press whilst the paper was damp.

The complimentary folder.

The paper used being Arches Not surface 300 g/m2, heavy texture.

Placed under the book the complimentary folder would house the free print, the edition number chosen by the purchaser of any book would relate to the corresponding letter in the alphabet.

Collating the book Once all the pages had been printed and dried it was time to bring the whole book together. This would be the first time I could actually turn each page as I had envisaged it.

First they had to be counted (again). Each page was checked for marks of any kind, then folded. I wanted all the deckle edges of the paper to be at the top of the page, when I had halved the paper before printing I made sure that deckles were always on the top edge, with the ripped edge to the bottom. This would make it easier for the bookbinder as they would be able to couch the whole book and mark for stitching., it would also create an unevenness that I liked as no two deckles are the same.

This was the first time I'd seen the endpapers folded; the pressure that had been applied to the paper whilst printing had created a blind embossed pattern on the reverse.

Folding the pages and squashing the fold with a bone folder creases the paper with a very sharp edge, it cannot be redone so great care was taken to line up the edges, and acid-free tissue was inserted between each page.

Once folded they were placed in individual sleeves with the letter on each sleeve. A methodical picking from each sleeve started until the whole book was assembled. Each book was then wrapped in acid-free tissue to make a package and then stored in packing cases ready for transportation to the bookbinders.

The last page, technical details and edition number

Arriving at Smith Settle, the bookbinders I explained exactly what I wanted, the deckle to be on top, the endpapers to be glued in such a way to leave the embossing showing.

The complimentary print folder was to be placed under the book on the right hand side of the Solander box. Gold leaf title to the spine, centralized and reading top to bottom, the same on the leading edge of the solander box.

The binding

Collation day, checking and folding each page before heading off to Smith Settle the bookbinders.

The covering of both the Solander box and the book were to match exactly. More discussion took place regarding the wear and tear of the materials, webalin is a strong paper-backed covering for books, has good strength, but next to the leather it just didn't feel right. More samples, more discussion and eventually I chose a linen cloth, acid-free tissue-backed and extremely durable. The size and positioning of the gold blocking on both the spine and Solander box were changed a few times. The point size wasn't right, the spacing looked odd.

Eventually I was happy with the mock-up. The final touch was the addition of a gold line along the edge of the leather from top to bottom, added with the title on handmade paper.

Smith Settle visit April 2017 I visited Smith Settle, who had commenced the sewing together of the pages by hand. A stack of finished pages stitched together and drying were on the workbench. The endpapers had been glued into position, the headbands attached and the spine (inner) attached.

I spent an hour or so with the two guys who were working on the book discussing any slight problems that have arisen whilst they are working on it and using a blind copy chose the exact positioning of the title on the front cover. The newly selected cloth covering was already cut but not attached and is shown in the bottom picture below.

Backing boards with leather in place

Sewn sections, loose fit cover boards and unattached cloth cover

A stack of sewn sections, headbands in place waiting for the covers.

Once all the books have been sewn, backing boards cut and fitted with leather, the next stage is the gold blocking on the spine. This is one of the reasons I wanted to visit to fix the type face and point size (24pt) along with the spacing between the words which would be stamped onto the spine.

A special binders' 'zinco' still had to be made which would be heated in a special press, gold leaf would be laid on the spine and both brought into contact. Heat fixes the letter shapes only to the spine; excess is wiped off.

The book is then be covered and blind embossed to the front cover. I've also added a gold line to the front spine, to enhance the cover.

Once all these steps have taken place accurate measurements are taken and the Solander box can be made to accommodate the book. All this work is completed by hand: great to see craftsmen working.

Workbench with a small stack of sewn books in the background

Factual: The amount of work to complete the book has been much more than initially envisaged. Total time spent, printing, drawing, etching and proofing (minus thinking time) was in excess of 1500 hours.

Paper used Hanhemuhle etching 140lbs ( 300 gsm).

Total 875 sheets.

Etching plate: 5 full sheets 1 metre x 50 cms each Tarlatan for printing etchings 125 metre's Ink : 11.5 kilos Etchings 24 in total, winding the press takes 35 full revolutions of the wheel, which in turn make 21,840 revolutions of the wheel. The extra prints 21,840 turns.

Add proofing and the grand total reaches 50,232 .

Surface printing: To take one impression of the text or surface print (wood engraving, lino block) the bed is moved under the platen by rotation of the rounce. It takes two turns to move the bed and two to return. By calculation and having recorded the number of impressions taken the total has reached 45,968 turns of the rounce.

Registration: A few problems had to be overcome, firstly the paper is not oblong or square, each half Imperial sheet has three deckle edges which are not straight, I had to invent some method of getting each image in roughly the same place. I ended up with an 18mm board cut at right angles into which I could set the chase full of text, each page would be different in text shape, by attaching two thin strips of hardboard I could register the paper on two sides. The images (etchings) had the same problem so a thin piece of mountboard was cut for each page, again in a right angle. Once inked the plate was placed on the bed of the etching press. Next the right angled mountboard was placed hard up to the bottom of the plate. I had drawn pencil lines on the mountboard to indicate where the paper would lie in the correct position.

Holding the damp hand-made paper by two opposite corners I could position the paper up to the pencil lines. Once in position I withdrew the mountboard, covered the paper with the etching blankets and proceeded to print.

I had already set the text, and placed it on the bed of the Albion press with the registration block in its position. Once the etching was printed the sheet was carried to the Albion and placed on the board: lower the tympan and wind the bed under the platen, one swift pull on the handle and the impression had been taken. Repeat 30 times for each page. The wrong ink destroyed many pages, it would bleed, the paper was too damp. To rectify this the paper would be dried, then lightly damped using the Allen method and satisfactory printing resumed.

Once I had the required number of pages printed the text would be disassembled and put back into the drawers. I would then start on assembling the text for the next page. In between times I would be thinking of the next image to be created, outings to different sites and research in the library.

Printing the frontispiece for A is for Art Gallery

After a full day printing I would either start or complete the next drawing for an etching. The time to etch with acid varied considerably. Six plates were discarded, one such plate being V for Vita Dome: it just didn't work. No two days in the workshop were the same. The images were not done in alphabetical order but by preference. Once both image and text had been printed and dried the frontispiece to each page would be assembled, proofed and ready to print.

The wood engravings were worked upon during the evenings, with the help of a very large illuminated magnifying glass, copious amounts of tea and a determination to reach a pre-ordained point in the proceedings, I had a time table to work to and the deadline was approaching.

Mild to acute panic set in when the bookbinders telephoned and mentioned that the Easter holiday period was within the previous dates we had agreed: was I aware of that? Add to that two other bank holidays.

Time to print ... faster.

What are original prints?

The artist printmaker makes the print, be it an etching, lino- cut, wood engraving, lithograph, silkscreen or woodcut. Whatever the medium only one person creates the image, others might print the finished article, but normally and quite often in England the artist is also the printer.

There are specialist printers who for a fee will edition your etching, lino print or wood engraving etc , making sure that each print is as near as possible to the original print supplied by the artist. The artist will make the block or etching plate and 'proofs' it. As the image progresses, these are called 'states', there can be several states of a print before the decides that the image/print is finished.

States of a plate These normally are titled, 1st state, 2nd state, 3rd state etc, until the artist is satisfied with the image there can be many different 'states'.

Artist's proofs Traditionally the artist prints a small number, usually 10% of the final edition number these are called 'artist's proofs'. The plate can then be taken to one of the specialist printers who will 'edition' the plate, to whatever number the artist requires.

Editioning

Quite often the artist will 'edition' his/ her print.

Depending on the condition of the plate the artist will decide on the total number of prints he/she wishes to form the edition. I have recently reduced the number in my editions to 30 copies with another 3, or 10% as Artist's proofs so allowing more time to create new fresh images.

Each print is inked by hand, excess ink is removed with Tarlatan (an open weave cloth) the idea being to leave ink in the etched or

recessed lines on the plate. With any hand printing there can be slight variations in the amount of ink deposited on the plate. One never knows exactly how much ink is on any given plate and no two plates will print the same way.

It takes thirty five turns of the etching press wheel to pass the bed through the press.

The first sight of the plate once it has been through the press is a raised plate mark on the back of the paper, a distinguishing mark of an etching: it cannot be reproduced in any other way. After inspection any 'light' prints are destroyed. Once the edition is complete the plate is defaced in such a way that no similar prints can be taken from it.

Once the edition has been printed, the print is dried under pressure. The artist will then sign and title the prints in numerical order.

Starting from the bottom left hand corner, firstly the edition number, then the title and finally the artists signature. It is customary to deface the plate so that no more prints can be printed, either a corner cut off, or lines scored through the plate, one more print is taken and is called the 'cancellation print'.

Steel facing of etching plates Copper etching plates are notoriously soft; delicate aquatints can become faint quite quickly, so another process called steel facing can be employed, which uses an electrolysis process. The plate is covered with a microscopic layer of steel: this hardens the plate and consequently the edition could be much larger.

Steel facing can be repeated at any stage and the life of a plate can be extended indefinitely. These are called 'open editions'.

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Giclee Prints The word Giclee (g-clay), is derived from the French verb 'gicler 'meaning 'to squirt or spray".Giclee, is used to describe a fine digital printing process combining pigment-based inks with high quality archival quality paper to achieve prints of archival quality, light fastness and stability.

Giclee prints are basically posters of an original artwork, be it an oil painting, pastel, watercolour or drawing. The process does not involve the artist in any way; a digital photograph is taken, then loaded into a 'top of the range printer' via a computer and printed onto just about anything: cup, saucer, paper, cardboard, canvas. The total number of these digital prints can be thousands and should in theory be decided before the start button is pressed, and ends when it is switched off.

Mistakes and hard knocks It would be untrue to say that during the production of the book everything went smoothly. The acid was too cold (it was winter) and etching the plates took longer than anticipated. Several plates didn't work out and had to be redrawn and etched.

Quite often high prices are asked for these digital prints (copies), but there is nothing original at all about them, they are copies of an original, or posters if you like. The artist will then sign and number these 'copies' of their pictures and market them as limited edition prints. The limit being how many times one pushes the button on the printer.

Last but not least, some of the spelling mistakes are due to my word blindness, these are retained since they indicate how I pronounced these words, proof reading the text many times I failed to notice them. I issued an errata page.

The cost of one giclee print is quite inexpensive.

A recent internet quote I obtained being the following: Image size: 450 x 500 mm on Bockingford watercolour paper costs just ÂŁ11.89 for one.

The more one prints the cheaper they become, same picture, same paper for 50 the cost dropped to ÂŁ5.50 per print. I am constantly seeing artists promoting their work as limited edition prints which have been printed in the above manner. The prices they charge for a 'copy of an original painting' can be very expensive.

They are digital prints or copies of an original picture,and certainly not the same as an original print.

49

Accidentally catching the edge of the chase on the side of a press destroyed three cases of text that had been locked into the chase, so distributing hundreds of letters on the workshop floor.

Lily the cat (with suitably muddy paws) paid several visits and added her distinctive footprints to damp paper.

Several sheets of printed pages did not dry satisfactorily and had to be destroyed.

I came to realize that with each book project I would attempt, I was destined to fail to reach the unobtainable perfection I had seen in my minds eye. It wasn't a competition, the books I would produce would be an indulgence for myself, it didn't matter if anybody else liked or disliked them, it was the satisfaction of starting and completing a book. I love to print.

The next book is in the planning stage.

June 2017 Michael Atkin

Website www.michaelatkin.co.uk Email: mail@michaelatkin.co.uk Open Studios Each June Michael participates in the North Yorkshire Open Studios event. Along with other artists from the area Michael throws open the workshop and drawing studio for interested parties to visit. No appointment is necessary. The dates for these two weekends when his studio will be open to all are detailed on his website.

All other studio visits by appointment only.

Newsletter Periodically Michael writes a newsletter for subscribers to notify them of new prints, exhibitions and news, to join his newsletter sign up on his website.

Newsletter subscribers are entered into a twice-yearly prise draw, with the chance of winning a signed limited edition print.

Your email address will never to passed to any other person /organisation.

For further information or to contact the artist visit

www.michaelatkin.co.uk

Printmaking courses Two day intensive courses at Bracken Press Etching and aquatint Lino and wood engraving More details and course dates can be found at www.brackenpress.com

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How a limited edition artist's book which include etchings, lino prints and wood engravings was made by hand using antique printing presses An edition of 26 fully bound copies.

Published by Bracken Press May 2017

'You can turn a corner and look down into a village in the North York Moors and see an Atkin view, or drive over the brow of a hill and see a stand of trees by the side of the road over yonder that you’ve seen before in one of his pictures.

While he admits an interest and influence from artists such as Stanley Spencer and Paul Nash, the views are very much his own and have, in their turn, been influential on other artists following his lead'.

Colin Simpson