Matthew Fullwood

I studied Fine Art at university and am a Secondary school Art teacher so had dabbled in printmaking. It was when I saw some images of mezzotints in an old book that my exploration of printmaking really began.

I was drawn to the rich, dark and mysterious atmosphere of the prints and became more fascinated when I started to read about the history and process. I did a short 2 day course with the brilliant Ali Yanya at Chelsea and Kensington college and loved it. I bought the book “The Mezzotint” by the amazing Carol Wax, which takes you through the history and technique in thorough detail. Since then I have set up a small studio in my garden shed with an etching press, which is my peaceful haven.

Mezzotint is a very slow, labour intensive process. Even preparing the plate takes hours of rocking. Because of this, when I complete a piece I feel an incredible sense of accomplishment. The feeling of revealing that first proof after weeks of rocking, scraping and burnishing is so exciting. I choose subjects from primary sources around me that lend themselves to the process (light emerging from darkness) and pose an interesting challenge. I have recently started to dabble in the much faster process of wood engraving and am hoping to start experimenting with etching and aquatint this year. I hope you enjoy looking at these prints.

Winner of the The Monochrome Award (2025)