Ropewalk Printmaker selected for Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
Beverley based artist Val Mager is celebrating one of her prints, Tumblebees, being selected for the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition.
Two of her prints made it to the Academy’s short list for this year and Tumblebees made it through to the final selection with the print edition immediately selling out.Val has been involved in printmaking for about eight years since learning the craft at The Ropewalk in Barton upon Humber.
“I hadn’t done any printmaking before then,” said Val. “I went to a couple of workshops at The Ropewalk and really enjoyed them.”
An English teacher for much of her working life, Val added that printmaking was her preferred medium.
“Printmaking inspires painting and painting often inspires the making of prints,” she explained. “I use a range of printmaking techniques including collagraph, etching and aquatint, mezzotint and lino.”
“In contrast to the act of painting, printmaking is an unpredictable process – I can never be quite sure who is in control – the technique and materials or my skill to control them. “
Val’s success at the RA’s Summer Exhibition, which runs until August 18, was mirrored in a small way with success in The Ropewalk’s Humber to the Wash Open Exhibition where she was awarded the runner-up prize.
Hull based Lindy Norton is another printmaker whose work is currently being exhibited both at the Royal Academy and Barton with her print “Twells Shed.”
The Humber to the Wash Exhibition is open Monday to Saturday between 10am and 5pm and on Sundays and Bank Holidays between 10am and 4pm at the Maltkiln Road venue. Admission is free.