Me & my work

I make my living as an artist.
It’s not all tea and long lunches, it’s not just a hobby.
The ‘to do’ lists are long, the pressure is self-imposed.
This is my life AND my business.

Sometimes the motivation wanes and that can be worrying
but not many people get to do what they love as a job,
so I persevere.

I go shopping with green ink on my face.
I stab myself less with my tools these days.
Less blood, less plasters
but rarely are my fingerprints not ingrained with ink.

I scour maps, I walk, I look, I listen.
Ears always alert to the sound of rushing water.
I follow streams up and down.

Sometimes I come home with nothing apart from wet feet.
Sometimes a quick scribble in a sketch book.

After a successful career as a freelance graphic designer & illustrator and then a web designer, searching for inspiration to produce art which was more 'from the heart', in 1997 I joined the Conwy Print Workshop. For various reasons, linocutting attracted me more than any another form of printmaking. It was accessible, affordable and it appealed to the graphic designer in me. That workshop was the beginning of something new which captured my heart and my imagination. Twenty four years later, I am still learning, adapting the technique and discovering what it has to offer.

I live in Denbigh, a typical North Wales small town which has probably seen better times and is a bit rough around the edges but it's also a place where community is alive and well and people are warm and welcoming. The Vale of Clwyd is blessed with woodland, rivers and lush pasture, with views to the Clwydian mountains, yet I’m only a short drive from moors and sea. I have a studio at home where I produce my linocuts either by hand-burnishing or using one of my two book presses..

I am continuously drawn to draw waterfalls and rivers and to cliffs, rock pools and beaches – I believe it’s natures forces, the impact of water on rock and how that shows itself, that lures me.

I enjoy all stages of the printmaking process, from my initial scribbly sketches to cutting and printing.

My work is available to buy through this website as well as being exhibited and sold in galleries across the UK.

Pfeil medium V shaped profile tool Ink mixing palette knife Pfeil small U shaped profile tool Small ink roller Pfeil small v shaped profile tool Wooden spoon (for burnishing)

ANN LEWIS RCA

Linocut Printmaker

Me & my work