I have a Mon-Fri job as a designer and illustrator. I am creating to a brief all day. Printing is for my satisfaction. I want to make the images I want because it’s where I find value. It’s an incredible feeling if I sell anything, because it means someone must have felt a connection to my work. I find that very powerful and it makes me emotional to think someone has welcomed one of my prints into their home.

Since February I’ve been trying to sell some original prints at a local shop near where I live in Bedford. It’s independently run by a tough local business woman who wants to support local artists, makers and jewellers. She saw my artwork and wanted to stock it. It’s a huge compliment. I want more people to see my art and to have it picked to be featured in a bricks and mortar shop gave me some validation as a creator. I feel like a real artist, stepping into the real world of retail!

What Some People Don’t Understand

With my linocut reduction prints, the original artwork IS THE PRINT! My originals are born in multiples. Every piece gets created by inking up and taking an impression from one piece of lino. It’s a long, very laborious method of creating, that is very difficult to explain to those who don’t know the process. In a shop, you see the finished item but not the many hours of work that went into making the piece.

Why Not Do Something More Commercial?

Because it’s Bedford right? People know what a swan is for example. There are loads of them by the river. I like swans. I’m a bird nerd. But, I’m shocked people don’t recognise a common cormorant. I realise people don’t love birds like I do, but I get baffled because you can see cormorants everyday by the river.

I don’t make this art purely to sell it and make cold hard cash. I’m not running a business. I’m picky with what I make. I ruminate over my designs for weeks, they take many hours and a lot of patience to make. I love it, I hate it, but I won’t lower my prices.