Ruth & I first visited the Harewood Estate in the Spring of 2019, just as the daffodils were blooming. No, that’s not quite right… We first visited Harewood as children, before we knew of each others existence, to walk around the grounds with our families, to watch the penguins, to marvel at the rows of copper baking tins and giant pans lining the kitchen walls, the paintings and bedspreads and tapestries upstairs. And so we returned, together, in February 19, to meet with Felicity, and have a look around the new holiday cottages she and her team were creating from the old workers’ cottages on the estate. They had chosen some of our work to decorate the cottages, and we felt so happy to see it there, in the cosy rooms with beautiful views of the landscape out through the little stone windows.

Whilst there we were asked if we would consider creating a new limited edition screen print, inspired by the landscape of the estate and the many flora & fauna that make their home there. We felt that would be something we would love to do!

Our process begins with walking around a place, getting a feel for the landscape, the colours, the animals we spot. We take pictures, sketch out ideas for composition and imagery. Ben, the estate’s custodian, very kindly allowed us access to his large collection of photographs, taken on the estate of wildlife he’s observed. He’s an animal lover and great supporter of conservation and diversity on his land. The photographs were wonderful source material and formed the basis, along with our observations, for lots of paper cuts. Cut by hand with a scalpel, here are just a few of the many used in the final print…

Once we have the elements for the print cut out of paper, we play around and arrange them in compositions, working out what looks best where until the fit feels right. Then we put tracing paper over the top and use pen & ink to draw in any texture or details (like the badgers’ eyes and texture of the trees and buildings for example). We then scan the whole lot into the computer to make any final tweaks to the composition, then print everything out as black and white images (called positives) to expose onto screens for printing.

We decided this print would have three colours. Each colour is printed in a separate layer, so we made three separate positives that all line up when printed one on top of the other. The picture below shows the first, second and third layers as they are built up…

We then use the positives to transfer the images on screens. Our screens are aluminium frames stretched with a fine nylon mesh. We coat the mesh with a light sensitive emulsion then shine UV light from our exposure unit through the positive to the screen. The black areas of the positive block the light and the white areas allow the light through to harden the emulsion. After rinsing this creates a perfect stencil (or that’s the idea!)

So, once the screens are exposed it’s time for colour testing! We knew it had to be green, we were at Harewood in early Spring and everything was so fresh and green all around us. We start by mixing tiny samples of ink with a brush, to get a feel for how the colours mix and change each other and what colours feel right. Then onto slightly bigger pots, and printed samples with sections of print and our tiny squeegee (the one used for the print is much bigger and harder to print with. The tiny one prints like a dream). It’s quite a long process, of printing samples, letting them dry (because the ink colour changes from wet to dry) layering up the three colours, making adjustments to the ink (a dash more blue, more white etc), printing again. We often pin the samples on the studio wall, to look at with fresh eyes on different days, and in different lights as the sun moves across the sky.

Once we’re happy with the colours we’ve chosen we do a test print at full size, to check the screens print as they should, with no blockages, that they line up (called registration) and that the balance of colours and the white of the paper is just right. And then it’s time to print the edition of prints!

It was with great excitement we delivered the final print to Ben & Felicity and the team at Harewood. Thankfully they were pleased with it, and it’s now available from Harewood Holidays, or on our website here.