Applying for submission to a gallery recently, they not only required the usual things – image, description, size, but also close-up details. It made me look at my work differently with fresh eyes. To my surprise the details themselves became new images in their own right. It was exciting.

It had already been suggested I make limited edition prints of some of the work. This was a new idea to me but the more I thought about it, the more I realised that rather than just reproducing a picture, I wanted to enlarge details as prints. The enlarged texture of collage papers and pastel marks are so clear it’s like looking through a microscope. I am not a printmaker and have always made individual pieces. Some jealousy sometimes lurked that they could produce numerous copies from one composition. Looking at the details in my own work, I became aware of multiple interesting images within the finished work itself. I saw new combinations of colour and shape. Even the mood was different.

I’m sure many artists will roll their eyes at my ignorance, but I really am a novice at this, so need to research and find a printing firm, preferably local who can produce the picture I see in my head. So many decisions to make! I wish we were still in time where I could go and physically talk to someone who could have an input and advice on which way to go. I know what I don’t want (I think). I don’t want to make giclée prints but perhaps print on watercolour paper with its lovely texture. The advantages to purchasers would be in price and postage costs of course and to me, adding to my body of work at a time where ill health has had a detrimental effect on my artist life.  It is certainly making me think!

Some details from Large Collage Drawings, but size and shape might alter according to print and paper requirements.