BRIAN HANSCOMB RE

Copperplate engraving, pastel & mixed media art

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Born in 1944 at Croxley Green, Hertfordshire, Brian followed the family tradition and was apprenticed at the age of 16 in the print industry, in his case, as a letter press engraver, later qualifying as a gravure industrial engraver. He left the print industry in 1979 to work full time as an artist engraver at home, now in St Breward, Cornwall and does, in fact, work in two very different media: copperplate engraving and in pastel & gold/platinum/palladium leaf collage.

He loves, and is inspired by, the work of many artists, including early English romantics, notably the followers of William Blake such as Samuel Palmer and Edward Calvert. He also gains much inspiration from the landscape, especially that of Bodmin Moor, around which he frequently rides on his bicycle. Brian finds that walking and cycling these moorland areas can lead to engravings such as "The Missing Rider" and the more humorous "Snail Race" (in which Bodmin Moor becomes the Alps!) - though some of the Cornish hills are extremely steep and hard to ride. Amongst his pastel/mixed media work, "Jacob’s Ladder II" and "Snail's Progress", were also inspired by Bodmin Moor.

A spiritual aspect often imbues his work through his appreciation of Zen Buddhism and personal aspects of Christianity, the latter particularly shown in the engraving "Christ appears in the Factory". Very often, a small snail appears, a quirky symbol of his work and also the Zen Buddhist meditational walk of Kinhin, reflecting just how long some engravings take.

To keep up with Brian’s latest work on Facebook, why not follow him here?