A Visit to The Penfold Press

Daniel Bugg in his studio

One of the best things about running a gallery is developing relationships with our artists.  Sourcing and selling original art is very satisfying, but seeing the artist at work, questioning him about his craft, or simply soaking up the atmosphere in his studio are bonuses that make the visitor feel very privileged.  Albeit briefly, you have stepped inside the artist’s skin and learned a little bit more about where he is coming from (and where he is going to next).

That was they way it was for us when we met Dan Bugg of Penfold Press.  Having studied at The Royal College of Art – becoming a successful artist himself – he now spends his working life as a printmaker, collaborating with prominent artists such as Mark Hearld, Emily Sutton, Ed Kluz, Jonny Hannah, Michael Kirkman, Clive Hicks-Jenkins and Angela Harding.  Developing an excellent working relationship with each artist, together they go through the processes which turn ideas into beautiful, sometimes quirky and highly collectable screenprints.  Each edition is produced in very limited runs.

For a while now, Dan and one of his collaborators, Emily Sutton, have been working on their Alphabet Series.  Starting with ‘A is for Accordion’ and running through to the most recent, ‘L is for Lemon,’ they have produced the most wonderfully appealing set of works. With ‘M is for Magic’ nearing completion, they will soon be halfway through this amazing, labour intensive project.

Emily Sutton’s ‘L is for Lemon’ pictured with printing notes and templates

It was very interesting to learn about the screen printing process at The Penfold Press.  Firstly there is the large number of templates which the artist produces, then there are the ten or twelve different colours the printer prints individually, not to mention any  necessary changes, discussions and corrections along the way.  Precision is certainly the key.  Dan, with his experience, patience and good-nature has this all down to a fine art (pun intended).

Here in our gallery we have some examples of work by Mark Hearld and Emily Sutton, which they produced in collaboration with The Penfold Press.  We hope to add more artists to our range in the future and wish Daniel Bugg continued and much-deserved success in his extraordinary venture. We look forward to seeing which artist he works with next.