About me

Hello, I'm Annabelle.

I've always loved making things. Whether it's sewing my own clothes and knitting jumpers, painting and sketching, felting and embroidery, you name the craft... I've probably tried it! I love using my hands to make things from scratch, and it's always been my happy and calm space.

My love of printmaking comes from a love of an unwieldy process. I've never really been much of a perfectionist per se. I never coloured in the lines and God forbid I had to draw a straight line, even with a ruler! I like happy mistakes and exciting discoveries. I love that two prints are rarely the same in linocut and that it is a form where imperfections are celebrated. Long before I started printmaking myself, my walls were adorned with linocuts, wood engravings and other forms of printmaking from various artists. I also feel that printmaking very much suits my subject: nature.

My prints are usually birds, insects and other species or natural forms. Conservation is incredibly important to me, and I love drawing animals and wildlife not only because I think they're beautiful, but because of the conversations they spark. I always end up chatting to people at events and markets: people who have worked with animal charities, people who go bird-watching, people who know someone else who does, people who have memories sparked by a particular species. I think conservation starts with those interactions, memories and noticing.

I grew up on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset and now live in Devon. I'm very lucky to have grown up surrounded by some of the best of British wildlife. I spent my childhood picking blackberries from the hedgerows, watching maybugs over the fields, exploring ant nests, looking for newts in wild ponds with my Dad and, of course, watching the birds.

These days, you can usually find me in the woods with my binoculars and camera, swimming in the sea, or out looking for treasures with my children… leaves, sea glass, lichen and feathers.

I hope through my prints and workshops, we can share art, creativity and wildlife together, and maybe just a little noticing might go a long way.