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What Is A Print?
Printmaking has a long and rich history, yet it is also one of the least known or understood art practices. The confusion between a reproduction print and an original print stems from the modern ability to reproduce work with precision. Yet it is this precision that is the underlying difference between an original print, and a reproduction.
A printmaker produces an original, whether the technique is etching, lithograph, collograph or any other printmaking medium, which is generally signed and if it is part of an edition then it is also numbered. While it is usually the aim of the artist to produce identical prints in an edition (a specified number of prints of one image), it is extremely difficult to avoid individual characteristics between the prints.
Print examples are from Hunter Island Press members.
Lithography Traditionally a stone is etched to create the image (example below, HIP member Allan Mansell).
Etching A fascinating Australian artist, Geoffrey Ricardo, who works with etching is an inspiring artist (example below, HIP member Linden Langdon).
Woodblock The Japanese tradition of woodblock printing has an extensive history and Hokusai is Internationally recognised for his work (example below, HIP member Milan Milojevic).
Screenprint There are a couple of Brett Whiteley screenprints amongst this fabulous collection of print work (example below, HIP member Helena Demczuk).
Collograph HIP member Iona Johnson has been working exstensively with collograph print this year (example below, HIP member Iona Johnson).
