John Grey
John began his printmaking around 2010 when he left full time university teaching. His early aquatint etchings were rooted in the precision and sharp contrasts of black-and-white photography, a lifelong interest, however his work has now evolved into a freer, more impressionistic exploration of the world based on his drawings and sketches. At the same time John made the move from the north east of England to Scotland, the focus of most of his current work.
Today, John works exclusively with the spit-bite method of aquatint etching, painting acid and resists directly onto his plates, rather than using the traditional approach of dipping plates in an acid bath. This allows him to embrace a painterly spontaneity and allows the subtle, atmospheric washes that define his style. His practice is a constant dialogue between the seen and the felt – a tension between the precision of the plate and the inherent unpredictability of the etching process.
