Artworks

Rod Nelson ARE (elected 2022)

Highland Falls

woodblock, edition of 50

paper size 42 x 29cm

image size 34 x 23cm

£160 unframed

Rod Nelson specialises in work depicting waterfalls, landscapes and seascapes, and he strives to encapsulate the energy of moving water through the use of parallel flowing lines, a reoccurring element in his work.

Rod works in the medium of woodblock printing. This is an ancient medium but one still with potential for innovation and experiment. Rod is particularly interested in the sense of looseness and freedom which is latent within the medium, which can result from the mark-making of the artist. The essence of the technique is the application of ink to a wooden surface and the subsequent transfer of that ink to a sheet of paper. Marks or lines cut into (and therefore below) the wooden surface will not receive ink.

For many years Rod was a carpenter by trade, and then was inspired to teach himself woodblock printing after by chance seeing an exhibition by the printmaker Shiko Munakata.

Rod is a short course tutor at West Dean College, near Chichester and at the Royal West of England Academy Drawing School in Bristol, and also teaches in Holland, Germany, and Norway. He co-authored (with Merlyn Chesterman RE) the book ‘Making Woodblock Prints’ published by Crowood Press.