Rachel Hunt
Interview
How did you get started with art?
I have always drawn and painted. My particular interests became more defined when I trained as a teacher in the early sixties. I there found printmaking and lino printing in particular. I then taught in Hertfordshire where I took advantage of an amazing facility open to all teachers that gave free access in the evening to teachers and studios at St Albans art school. There I tried my hand at fabric printing, oxy-acetylene welding, pottery and etching. The etching tutor was John Brunsdon and it was the first time I tried my hand at colour etching, which I loved.
How did you get started with art?
I have always drawn and painted. My particular interests became more defined when I trained as a teacher in the early sixties. I there found printmaking and lino printing in particular. I then taught in Hertfordshire where I took advantage of an amazing facility open to all teachers that gave free access in the evening to teachers and studios at St Albans art school. There I tried my hand at fabric printing, oxy-acetylene welding, pottery and etching. The etching tutor was John Brunsdon and it was the first time I tried my hand at colour etching, which I loved.
I went to Hong Kong to teach and apart from trying my hand at Chinese brush painting and designing sets and costumes for an amateur theatre group I did very little in the way of painting and drawing for some years. It was only when I returned to the UK, with a husband and two children, and after the children had started school, that I decided to get myself back into the art world. I was fortunate in being able to join the last group to do the Higher Diploma at Southampton Institute, and had as my tutors, Mike Griffiths and Steve Powell.
After I completed the course I worked with a cooperative of other artists in setting up, opening and running the Winchester Contemporary Art gallery, which was a very interesting and productive way of seeing how the art world worked.
After I completed the course I worked with a cooperative of other artists in setting up, opening and running the Winchester Contemporary Art gallery, which was a very interesting and productive way of seeing how the art world worked.
What is your work about?
I have always been fascinated by colour, and this continues to be crucial element of my work. My paintings explore colour and the effects of one colour with another. I use acrylic paint with transparent glazes and a lot of water to create abstract patterns. There is a discovery process embodied in the paintings, as the effects of the glazes and the ways in which the colours run is unpredictable. I have a visual problem and can no longer draw, so I can no longer make traditional colour etchings and lino prints. However, I am now exploring photography, and am able to use my photographs as starting points for solar plate etchings and silkscreen prints.
I have always been fascinated by colour, and this continues to be crucial element of my work. My paintings explore colour and the effects of one colour with another. I use acrylic paint with transparent glazes and a lot of water to create abstract patterns. There is a discovery process embodied in the paintings, as the effects of the glazes and the ways in which the colours run is unpredictable. I have a visual problem and can no longer draw, so I can no longer make traditional colour etchings and lino prints. However, I am now exploring photography, and am able to use my photographs as starting points for solar plate etchings and silkscreen prints.
Where and what are you working on now?
I now have a small studio with an etching press and silkscreen facilities, so I am able to produce prints as well as paintings at home. I am currently exploring ways in which I might be able to incorporate screen printing into my painting.
I now have a small studio with an etching press and silkscreen facilities, so I am able to produce prints as well as paintings at home. I am currently exploring ways in which I might be able to incorporate screen printing into my painting.
© 2D3D South Contemporary Art, 2018