Meet the Printmaker - Tess Redburn

We're loving the bright and bold prints Tess is currently showing in The Print Shop, and were very pleased she spared the time to answer our questions. Read on to find out more about her work, process and many influences...

Please can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your work…
What sort of prints do you make?

I graduated from Bath last year and now work part time in studio in town as an illustrator. I also have just taken up painting in my spare time to try to diversify my working process. Printmaking for is mainly a way to take my work off screen and allows me to get back in touch with the ‘making’ side of things. At uni I had more freedom to make more handmade work so nowadays printmaking is the closest I can get to that.

Wizard of Oz / screen print

Screen printed card

Are you solely a printmaker or do you work in any other creative fields?

I love to paint and I also do bits of graphic design now and then. I also work at the Royal West of England Academy.

What is your earliest recollection of making a print and what made you to want
to do more?

I remember screen printing some fabric with my mum when I was very young. I only really got interested in printmaking at uni, there were a lot of really passionate printmakers in my year so it was really good to feed off that momentum.

Sketchbook #1

Keith Haring / Inspiration

What inspires you and are there any themes or ideas that often run through your work?

I try to stay away from other contemporary illustrators for inspiration. I prefer to look at painters like Picasso, Asger Jorn, Hockney, Fernand Leger and Basquiat. I also love folk art and textiles from Africa, South America and Asia. In terms of the way I work I find my most successful work comes from being very free and intuitive about it. If I labour over things too much they look contrived and dull, there’s a lot to be said for going with that first instinctive idea that comes into your head, despite what you get taught at art school.

Fernand Leger - Woman Holding a Vase

Could you give us an insight into where you work – your studio/workspace and
where you print?

I have a studio in old market at the moment but that’s set to change fairly soon, I print at the Drawn in Bristol studios. Hopefully one day I’d like to have some kind of printing set up of my own.

My studio

The work of which other printmaker/s do you admire?

Hockney has made some amazing etchings, especially his ones of the Grimm’s Fairytales. Edward Bawden is also a hero of mine, his work is so timeless.

Sketchbook #2

Printmaking is made up of lots of different processes, which aspect
do you enjoy the most?  

I used to love doing lithography at uni, I love how every print comes out so different and you can experiment freely with inking up different and preparing the plates with different textures and chemicals. Theres a lot more trial and error involved compared to screen printing which is very exact.

Can you spare a little printing trick or secret with us?

Especially with screen printing it pays to be methodical, patient and careful. mistakes happen when you’re in a rush.

How would you like to develop your printmaking skills in the future?

It would be nice one day to have the time and resources to just experiment. These days its more about getting things done as efficiently as possible.

Which printed publication do you most look forward to thumbing through?

The Nobrow publications are always so beautifully produced, they’ve got that fresh print.

Monochrome or multi-coloured?
My work is all about colour, the brighter the better.

Thanks very much Tess, it's brilliant to see such great work from a recent graduate - We look forward to seeing more of your prints in the future.

Tess Redburn's work is featured in Volume 1 of The Print Shop, alongside prints from a host of other talented printmakers - make sure you visit the shop before August 25th, when a new set of printmakers will take over!

The Print Shop

Unit 6

Quakers Friars

Cabot Circus

Bristol

BS1 3BU

Open Daily

Mon - Sat 10am - 6pm

Sun 11am - 5pm