Full description

I have been fascinated by the images from the Hubble Telescope ever since I saw the famous 'Pillars of Hercules' photo. The scale is huge, billions of miles, but they often have a remarkable delicacy and depth, which I attempt to capture in this and other prints.

I made it using a process called gel printing (sometimes gelli printing, but strictly speaking that is a trademark.) This uses a synthetic gel as a plate and standard acrylic paint so allowing prints to be made without the need for a press.

Paint is applied to the plate using rollers, brushes, my fingers or anything that will leave a mark. I sometimes use stencils or masks, which I make myself. I don't use commercial stencils so the end product is absolutely unique. After applying the paint, I create texture in the surface in various ways. I can draw into it, with a piece of card or a cotton bud. I can partially wipe it away creating various thicknesses of layer. Each tool leaves a distinctive mark in the paint which transfers to the paper. For a given image, I will do this several times, building up layers, each of which interacts with those already printed. Some of my larger pieces may have 20–30 layers, which also creates a distinctive physical texture.

Image: 15 cm x 15 cm (6” x 6”)

Mount: 25 cm x 25 cm (10” x 10”) acid free board

Paper: Acid free mixed media paper, 250 gsm, with a smooth matt surface