ABOUT THE ARTIST AND THE ARTWORK
HOW A LINOCUT IS MADE
CUTTING THE LINO BLOCK
Illustrated below are the stages in cutting the lino block of ‘Banksia Ericifolia’. First I draw some of the composition onto the lino with pencil then I use a black pen to give me a guide when cutting.
I use either a U shaped or V shaped gouge to carve the areas that will not pick up ink when the roller goes over the top.
The linoleum is specifically for linocutting & is a bit softer than the one traditionally used for flooring. It is a natural substance made from hessian, rubber & linseed oil.
Click on an image in the galleries to view larger
An Artist Proof of ‘Banksia Ericifolia’ hand printed & painted
PRINTING FROM THE LINOBLOCK
INKING THE LINOBLOCK
Inking-up the linoblock using a soft rubber roller & a black oil-based ink, then laying the handmade Japanese Washi paper on top of the inked linoblock.
Using the Baren to print
Rubbing the back of the paper with a Baren (bamboo leaf-covered firm disc) to make a print. Using handmade printmaking papers allows the progress of the printing to be monitored by seeing how much of the print is beginning to show through the back of the paper. Hand printing requires stamina, delicacy & patience; it allows for subtleties & fine details in the linocutting to be transferred more faithfully onto the paper as the inked block is not being ‘squashed’ in a printing press.
TAKING the print off the linoblock
After 20 minutes or so of rubbing the back of the paper with the Baren, the ink has been evenly transferred from the linoblock onto the paper, creating the linocut print. The paper is carefully pealed off the inked block then hung up for a few days to dry.
HAND PAINTING THE LINOCUT PRINT
The linocut ‘Banksias & Dryandra’ as a black & white print, with some painting & in its finished state
The linocut print is ready for colouring once the oil-based black ink has dried.
The print is taped down onto a board and then painted by me. I have an artist proof to refer to and also a colour chart for that particular linocut. I use artist quality water-based archival & lightfast paints.
Each linocut is very slightly different from others in the same edition due to variations in the way the colours are mixed & applied. I have a painterly approach & often use layers of different colours to achieve a certain effect.
Some linocuts are complex & take me several days to paint.
Once the linocut or engraving is finished, it’s signed & editioned in pencil at the bottom near the border. Most of the linocuts & engravings are an edition of 50, so for instance if it was number 6, it would be written as 6/50. An artist proof is written as A/P.
For many reasons apart from being too time consuming, I do not complete a whole edition at one time. I keep documents online & hard copy listing all the editions & the number that each one is up to as they are sold.
ABOUT RACHEL NEWLING
Rachel Newling is an established, independent artist who has been specialising in various printmaking techniques for many years and is a leading linocut artist.
Born in the U.K. in 1956, Rachel grew up next to the beach near Padstow in Cornwall. Being out in nature was her main childhood pastime & she developed a keen interest in the creatures & landscape of that wild stretch of North Atlantic coast.
Later Rachel moved to London to attend art schools & then made her way to visit family in Australia. After visiting a couple of times she moved to Sydney permanently in 1982, choosing to again live near the water in Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS (selected)
2018 The Palm House, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
2017 Noosa Regional Gallery, Queensland
2017 The Palm House, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
2015 The Palm House, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
2014 Framed Gallery, Darwin
2013 The Palm House, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
2012 The Mint, Historic Houses Trust, Sydney
2011 Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mt.Tomah
2011 Framed Gallery, Darwin
2010 Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Sydney
2009 The Palm House, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
2008 The Palm House, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
2007 The Botanic Gardens Trust, Palm House, Sydney
2006 Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
2003 Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
2000 Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
1996 Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
1994 Blaxland Gallery, Sydney
1993 Cintra Gallery, Brisbane
1992 Blaxland Gallery, Sydney
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (selected)
2020 ‘Cultivate’ Foundation & Friends of the Sydney Royal Botanic Garden
2019 Art from the vault, Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Sydney
2016 For The Birds, Framed Gallery, Darwin
2011 Works from the gallery collection, Manly Art Gallery & Museum
2010 ‘ Pressed ink', prints from the collection’ Cairns Regional Gallery
2009 ‘In Paradise: Artists of the Northern Beaches’ Manly Art Gallery & Museum
2007 The Melbourne Contemporary Art Fair, Melbourne
2006 Colville Street Art Gallery, Tasmania
2000 Sculpture By The Sea, part of the ‘Seachange’ Olympic Arts Festival, Sydney
1997 ‘Zoo’ Art House Gallery, Sydney
1993 ‘Coast to Coast’ Myer Gallery, Perth
1991 The Sydney Printmakers, Blaxland Gallery, Sydney
COLLECTIONS
Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Artbank, Telstra, Cairns Regional Gallery, The Royal Botanic Gardens Trust Sydney, The City of Sydney, News Corp, Australian War Memorial, Queens Club Sydney.
Corporate and private art collections in Australia, and Worldwide
BIBLIOGRAPHY (selected)
‘Die Gespenster Von Demmin’ book by Verna Kessler, front cover art: ‘Black Swan’ drawing, published by Hanser Berlin 2020
‘The Backyard Birdwatchers Bible,’ Chapter: ‘Birds in art’, double page with 3 images & text, published in U.K. by Harper Collins, in the U.S.A. by Abrams 2020
'Sun Herald' S Section, 8 days Sunday planner, short piece by Nicole Elphic, Feb 19 2017
'House & Garden Magazine', image 'Waratah' and short piece, Feb 2017
'The Sydney Morning Herald' Spectrum, The Planner, piece by Nicole Elphic and image: 'Emu portrait' Dec 7-8 2013
‘The Sydney Morning Herald' Spectrum, article by Lynne Dwyer 11-12 Feb 2012
'Daily Telegraph' image of the artist at the gallery, article by Elizabeth Fortescue 1 Feb 2012
‘The Sydney Morning Herald’ Spectrum section, The Planner, by Lynne Dwyer on Rachel Newling Artist Talk at Manly Art Gallery & Museum. 26/7/10
Art Guide Australia Magazine, short piece July/August 2010 edition.
Catalogue for ‘In Paradise: Artists of the Northern Beaches’ published by The Manly Art Gallery & Museum, curator: Katherine Roberts
‘The Sydney Morning Herald’ Good Weekend Magazine, Upfront section, image: ‘Gymea Lily’ and article by Deborah Cooke 9/2/08
‘Daily Telegraph’ Arts section, article by Elizabeth Fortescue and image: ‘Wisteria & Blue Wrens’ 30/1/08
‘The Sydney Morning Herald’ Spectrum section, The Planner, image: ‘Gymea Lily’ & piece by Arjun Ramachandran. 26/1/08
‘The Daily Telegraph’ Weekend Planner, Exhibitions, image: ‘Blue Waterlily’ and piece by Elizabeth Fortescue. 17/6/06
‘The Sun Herald’ Sunday Metro section, image: ‘Waratah’ and article by Brett Thomas. 15/6/03
‘The Sydney Morning Herald’ Metro section, ‘The weeks best exhibitions,’ image: ‘Blue Waterlily’ and article. 13-19 June 2003
‘The Sydney Morning Herald’ Weekend Metropolitan section, image: ‘Blue Waterlily’ and article. 14-15 June 2003
‘The Australian’ Wealth section; Art Investor. Article by Michael Reid. 11/6/03
‘Look’ Magazine of the Art Gallery of NSW. Image: ‘Pandanus Fruit’ March 1998
‘The Sydney Morning Herald’, Northern Supplement, article by Judy Adamson, image of the artist, March 1998
‘The Gardens,’ Magazine of The Friends of The Royal Botanic Gardens. Frontcover image: ‘Waterlilies’ and article by Dorothy Robertson. Issue 36 Feb-Apr 1998
‘The Sydney Review’ Front cover image: ‘Sunflowers Newport’, Dec. 1994
‘The Sydney Morning Herald’ Good Weekend Magazine, image: ‘Satin Bower Bird’, 19/9/94