Artists

MASTERCLASSaway by the beauty of the Cornish countryside andinfected by Oliver’s enthusiasm for experiencing andresponding to it through printmaking, whatever theweather. “As long as you’re warm and dry it’s extremelyexhilarating to be out in adverse conditions,” he says.“It feels quite James Bond-y.” It’s that sense ofadventure in the landscape that Oliver shares withthose who take part in his courses, inspiring them todon their waterproofs and head out into the storm.``````light of dusk. Pointing to an example to St Michael’sMount, a spectacular Cornish landmark that can beseen from Oliver’s garden, he says, “St Michael’sMount isn’t going anywhere. It can be done the daybefore from a structural point of view, and when thelight’s absolutely right I can be honest to that.”Etching materials are also durable enough to takeout in all weathers. “There’s something aboutprintmaking that gives you the fl exibility to move intoquite adverse conditions. It can be an absolute stormand as long as you’re hugging your bit of metal you’refi ne,” says Oliver.He adds that the experience of working in theoutdoors is his main motivation. “I’m changed by aday’s drawing in the landscape, because I’ve becomesensitised to being in the outdoors that I love, beingcloser to creation. It’s why I’m a landscape artist – itisn’t for the image, it’s for the process I go through.”The greatest compliment he can receive is whensomeone looks at one of his prints and says they canfeel the mizzle or the crisp wind of that day, as thoughthey are there with him.Oliver’s desire to share that sensation of being in thelandscape goes beyond exhibiting and selling hisatmospheric prints. Using his home as a base, Oliverruns four-day plein air printmaking courses, takingparticipants out into the Cornish countryside toprepare, make and proof images in situ using a varietyof processes such as engraving and drypoint, etching,woodblock and monoprinting.“What I love about printmaking is you don’t have tocome with much of an idea of what you want to do. It’sbetter that you don’t,” says Oliver. “If you’re going todrag a printing press across the beach there’s no pointsitting there and saying, ‘I’ve already decided I’m goingto do this’. You need to be willing to be led by thecircumstances.” He encourages his students to takerisks, as “happy accidents” can often produceunexpectedly wonderful results that aren’t revealeduntil the moment of lifting the paper off the printingplate. “The important thing with printmaking is just totry it and see what happens,” says Oliver.It’s not hard to see why participants would be swept``````OLIVER’STOP TIPS FORWORKING ENPLEIN AIR- Don’t set out withtoo fi xed an idea ofwhat you want todo – be open to thecircumstances youfi nd yourself in andwhere they can lead.- Wrap up well andthen go out in allweather conditions.- It can be hardto decide where tostart en plein air- try breaking thelandscape down intoforeground, mid-ground and distance.You want to think ofa composition thatslightly restricts yourview so the eye canlead from foregroundthrough mid-groundinto the distance.- To get started, trydrawing the landscapewith your eyes closed.Use your other sensesto see what they’resaying about thelandscape.- Take risks andchallenge yourself.Let the process beas important as theproduct. Enjoy theprocess and it canreward you with thingsthat you can’t imagine.HOW TO RECORD AN EXPERIENCEOliver recommends keeping a record of how yourprint has developed throughout the day – eitherby running off prints as you go if you can, ortaking photographs. “Try to capture the the tidechanges, temperature changes, the winddirection – these things happen so quickly or sogradually that you don’t actually notice thatyou’re in a different situation.”Bring together the changing conditions toevoke the experience as a whole. “When we’redrawing we can lose perspective of the ‘overall’.The viewer can’t join you at all those differentstages, they can only join you at the end. How doyou tell them about the day?”http://www.oliverwestfi nearts.com36 Oliver West.indd 39 08/06/2016 15:10