June – Chance Encounters – Jo Ruth

Jo is a ‘press-less printmaker’ based in York and we are delighted that she will be returning to exhibit here in 2023.   Her interest lies in the extensive opportunities for experimentation when combining stenciling with painting. Her imagery is of birds in our gardens, parks and countryside.

She told us where she gets her inspiration: ‘A long walk, whether it’s in the town or the country, always provides a wealth of inspiration. My imagery aims to capture the beauty and surprise of the natural world and is my response to chance encounters with birdlife in its chosen environment. The choice of colours and textures and the resulting compositions and are my response to the experience and memory of that particular moment.

All my work is created using hand crafted stencils made from linear drawings, the quality of line in these drawings being vital to the character of the final stencil. I then use a spray or stippling technique to ‘print’ the stencils over painted, textural backgrounds.  The graphic stencils combined with layered use of paint is intended to echo the many and varied surfaces and textures found in a wide variety of habitats.’