I have been a printmaker for over twenty years with a foundation in painting and drawing.  Making monotype prints provides the best combination of the gestural aspects of drawing with the emotional presence of color and pattern for me.  Quality of line; how it can go from thick to thin and back again, how it can carry different weights, how edges can merge or push against each other are all excellently translated in this medium.  Areas of color interacting with others convey different emotions and moods in this process in a rich and sensitive way.

I strive to bring both accuracy and abstraction to my work  as a way of expressing feelings and emotions.  Initially focused on the human figure for its complexity, beauty and what can be conveyed in it's attitude and context, I find the same emotive qualities can be expressed with a wide range of other subject matter. More recently, I have been interested in investigating the atmospheric qualities of particular settings and how they can conjure a mood or trigger personal memories.

Monotype is essentially a painting done on a printing plate that is run through a press under pressure transferring the image to paper, each piece distinctive and unique. I find the immediacy of the process particularly satisfying.  The pressure of the press changes the consistency of the ink as it is embedded in the fibers of the paper, the image not so much lying on top of the paper as essentially becoming a part of it.  There is a surprise element that is also satisfying since I can never completely anticipate the result as the paper comes off the plate.  It constantly amazes me how rich yet delicate monotypes can be.

By working directly and intuitively, I strive to distill each piece down to its essential components in a direct yet spontaneous way.

Stephen MacFarlane