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Each print is itself an individual artwork- after the plate is made it is inked in between four and seven colours, the prints are drawn by hand and then hand coloured. The plates are cancelled after the print series has been completed, ensuring the limited edition status.
Like Parkinson, Bryan bases his work on living specimens, collecting samples in the field using a magnifying glass and sketching, all backed up by many photographs.
How does he choose his subjects? For the graphic element inherent in each plant, together with the colour and form. "Each plant is designed by nature & simply interpreted by me as the artist", he says. " All my subjects are based on samples collected by me in the field so to speak." |
Magnolia grandiflora, in support of the Friends of Kew |
The Definition Of An Original Print
'Proofs either in black or in colour, drawn from one or several plates, conceived and executed entirely by hand by the same artist, regardless of the technique employed, with the exclusion of any and all mechanical or photomechanical processes, shall be considered original engravings, prints or lithographs.
'Only prints meeting such qualifications are entitled to be designated Original Prints.' Third International Congress of Plastic Arts, Vienna 1960.
When the edition is complete the plate is cancelled by scoring with an etching needle. | |
Metrosideros excelsus, Pohutukawa, New Zealand Christmas Tree |
Where to see Bryan Poole Original Prints
The set 10 New Zealand Native Botanical prints are in an edition of 150, with 50 available in limited edition portfolio sets. Portfolio sets are held in a number of prestigious collections, including-
- Museum of New Zealand - Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington
- Hocken Library, Dunedin
- Southland Museum & Art Gallery, Invercargill
- Ralph Hotere Collection, Dunedin
- Royal Botanic Gardens - Kew, London
Individual prints can also be bought from each edition.
You see Bryan Poole's work online at www.etchart.co.uk, at the Gordon Craig Gallery, Knightsbridge, London (Tel +64 (20) 7589 4149), or better still you can meet Bryan and see his work at the Chelsea Flower Show in May 2001. | | |
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Pachystegia insignis, Marlborough Rock Daisy
Pyrus comminis, Cultivated Pear |
Capturing the subjects' essence while fresh in simple drawings with a touch of watercolour is the first step. Detailed drawings then follow based on the dried samples. Once he is happy with the design it is then transfered, back to front, onto the copper plate.
"Without getting too technical we are not thinking colour at all, simply metal & acid. This plate making stage is the most time consuming & nerve racking as any mistake can put you of schedule by days", says Bryan. " When the plate or plates are complete the concept of colour now enters the equation. The real fun part. I am essentially applying the ink to the etched bite in the metal that you have created with the acid. With much experimentation a perfect print is hopefully created, a fantastic feeling."
The entire process takes more or less two months from start to finish. Each print is itself an individual artwork- after the plate is made it is inked in between four and seven colours, the prints are drawn by hand and then hand coloured. The plates are cancelled after the print series has been completed, ensuring the limited edition status.
Bryan's work brings back a technique in inprint making that has died. But these artworks are not fossils but a modern interpretation of an old art form, adding his own, very individual stamp to the technique and art of inprint making. Or as Bryan puts it, "My own sense of design, sense of line and colour. A contemporary design in the style and technique that dates back 300 years." |
Olea europaea, Olive |
Bryan has produced a wonderful series of New Zealand botanicals using subjects that will be that will be familiar to us all: the cabbage tree, flax, pohutukawa, kowhai, and other New Zealand natives.
We show some of the New Zealand Botanicals series here, although the detailed work, definition and colour is had to represent adequately online. These fine artworks are far more beautiful than these tiny representations can possibly show.
Bryan has also produced a beautiful print of Magnolia grandiflora, using the magnolia growing against the Herbarium at Kew as his subject, and part of the proceeds from the sale of this work will be given to the 'Friends of Kew 10th Anniversary Appeal'. The Appeal is undertaking the restoration of the Broadwalk at Kew. | |
