Rob trained as a painter - printmaker at Hull College of Art and Design in the 1960's. He had a career teaching printmaking, first at Keswick Hall College, Norwich then at the University of East Anglia, until he retired. He now works from his studio in Norfolk.
He has returned to lino cutting as he enjoys the stong physical process of cutting and hand - inking. The linocuts are printed on an Albion press made by Henry Rochat of Barnet, London. The press was cast in 2013 and is a copy of an 1854 press made by Ulmer. Modern casting methods have ensured that it is far more accurate than was ever possible in 1854.
'I like nothing better than to let ideas grow as I find shapes and colours in the landscape. My recent linocuts are inspired by old boats and debris surrounding them. I am often asked if I plan my colour combinations in advance. I never know what the colours will be until I start to print. After the first colour is set down, it influences the next colour and so on until I finish the layers of colour with a black. There must be some mystery and suprise in the creation of a linocut "
