Intaglio Printmaker Prize Winner: Sharon Baker

Please could you tell us a bit more about the inspiration behind the work? 

I was invited to create work in response to the novel ‘Don Quixote’ by Cervantes for a group exhibition. When I read the novel, I wanted to put a face to the name of the female character Dulcinea. She is repeatedly mentioned but is imaginary and never seen. I imagined my own ending to the novel and my print is my tongue-in-cheek visualisation. ‘The Happy Couple’ depicts a fictitious Don Quixote and Dulcinea together in later life living not quite ‘happily ever after’. I am poking fun at traditional chivalric fairy story endings when the hero and heroine get married and live ‘happily ever after’. The image is based on a vintage postcard I’ve had in my possession for over thirty years.

What made you get into printmaking? 

I’ve always known about printing as my dad was a commercial lithographic printer at James Upton Limited in Birmingham. I studied Fine Art at Wolverhampton and went into the print department to do a module learning plate lithography, and I never left. I was hooked! Funny really considering my Dad’s occupation.

 Tell us about your other works – are they similar or different? Do you tend to work within one technique?

My other works may have some underlying thematic links but can look distinctly different. My work is eclectic: the subject and content changes depending on what I am interested in.  I tend to produce work in series which have contrasting styles depending on my subject matter and the processes I am using.

I use different printing processes depending on the imagery I am working with, and I sometimes incorporate collage and stitching. I’ve made work over the years using photopolymer intaglio etchings and last year I began learning the polymer photogravure technique using KM73 plates. They capture a greater depth of tonality and fine detail than the photopolymer film I’ve used in the past. Over recent years I’ve also worked with photo-lithography, mono-printing and linocut.