Creating “Hedges” linocut
Original Print – Linocut on Paper
Classical formal stately home gardens were the inspiration for this lino print.
This print was inspired by visits to stately home gardens. We've a richness of grand formal gardens in the UK, such as Studley Royal in Yorkshire.
This print is not 'of' any particular garden, however, it's the result of remembered impressions, and the feeling of being in places where tall hedges were a feature.
I don't know why, but I'm drawn to formal gardens with sculptored hedges. Often yew trees are used, but other varieties of tree or shrub feature too, such as at Studly Royal, where I think it's beech.
Statement garden picture
In the same way carefully clipped hedges make a statement in any garden, this original print makes a statement too. A homage to all the gardens where hedges are key to their design. The exhibition selection Jury at Ferens art gallery, in Hull, clearly understood.
Full of texture and light, yet a simple composition makes this a grand and rich image. It doesn't have to resort to being huge in order to have a powerful effect in an interior either.
Art inspiring gardens
I've grown‑up with a gardening mother. I had no chance really, did I? I was always going to be enthralled by plants, and planted vistas.
So my small urban garden is full to bursting with herbaceous perennials, and I know a few too many plant names.
I love wandering around larger gardens on a sunny afternoon inspecting the planting schemes to the delight of my artistic eye.
Formal landscaped gardens, like the one in this print, 'float my boat' as much as chaotic cottage gardens on the other end of things. They both make great landscape art, or more precisely, garden art.
Hedges are carefully choreographed to create intrigue: what's behind, or through, the hedge? Another garden? A vista? It can be like stepping into another world.