Biography

Julian Davies was born in Liverpool, but now lives and works in south east London, where he teaches relief print courses, installs exhibitions and continues with his own practice. He describes himself as a printmaker first, painter second.

For the past 25 years his printmaking has been exclusively in relief print, both wood and linoleum, mainly using the reduction method to achieve layers of bold colour and a simplification of form. Julian is interested in the interaction between the shapes and colour and the relationships and tensions these throw up in the images. He is always striving to get the images back to the their most basic elements, discarding any extraneous mark-making, believing that what is left out is just as important as what is put in.

He prefers to work directly onto the block, rather than from sketches, making decisions and responding to how the work is developing, as this adds a level of spontaneity to the pieces. Most crucially of all, Julian wants the work to be bright, cheerful and fun.

Julian joined Greenwich Printmakers in March 2020.

1994 BA (Hons) Fine Art (Printmaking), Grays School of Art, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen

1997 MFA (Printmaking), University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne