Meet the Maker: Nicola Wallis

I’m a linocut printmaker and artist, and I have a Master’s degree in Fine Art from the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, which I completed in 2006. My studies were supported by an Arts and Humanities Research Council bursary, and on graduating I was awarded the Adrian Carruthers Award. I have continued to work and exhibit since then.
I’m originally from Darlington in the North East of England, and I spent about ten years living and working as an artist in central London before moving to the Wiltshire countryside. The contrast between those places has really shaped my studio work, combining the discipline and ambition I developed in London with a much closer connection to the natural world.

Describe your printmaking process.

I’m a printmaker specialising in large-scale, realistic linocut prints, most of which are over a metre long. I work from large sheets of linoleum, hand-carving highly detailed images of animals, insects and fish. My work combines the bold, graphic qualities of relief printmaking with quite a hyper-realistic level of detail.

Each linocut is a very intensive process. Most take at least 120 hours to carve, and the more ambitious pieces, like my Elephant linocut, have taken over 400 hours of very detailed hand carving.

How and where did you learn to print?

Even though I have an MFA in Fine Art, I hadn’t really worked with linocut since school. After leaving London in 2018, I started experimenting again, carving small A6 prints of animals and insects. At that point I didn’t have a studio, so working from home on a small scale suited me and let me slowly rebuild my work as an artist.

Things really changed when I realised you could buy linoleum in large rolls. When my first roll arrived, I couldn’t bring myself to cut it down into small pieces, so I just went with it at full scale. That led to my first large linocut, Chook, which was inspired by my own bantam hen, which, was my first pet and really my first step into country life after leaving London.
Working at that scale completely changed how I approached printmaking. It allowed me be really absorbed in tiny details: I’ve always been interested in perception and how we see things. Scale became more than just physical size for me; it became a way of looking more closely and revealing the complexity in familiar animals.

Now I split my time between Wiltshire and Newcastle. In Wiltshire I spend weeks, sometimes months, carving by hand. Then I take the block to Newcastle to print at Northern Print. It’s one of the UK’s leading printmaking workshops, and as a self-taught printmaker, their support and expertise have been really valuable. They also have a rare Berwick & Wilson Clydesdale electric press, which is one of only a few still in use in the UK, and the private room it’s housed in really suits the way I work.

Why printmaking?

I choose printmaking for a few reasons. I’m drawn to how technical and physically demanding it is. Large-scale linocuts especially require a lot of patience, precision and discipline, and I enjoy working within those limits. Every stage, from carving to printing, needs careful planning and a real understanding of the materials. At the same time, there’s always an element of unpredictability for example; the pressure of the press, the ink, the paper they all behave slightly differently each time, which means the final print is never completely fixed. That balance between control and chance is something I really like.
I also like that printmaking lets you return to the same image over time. You can experiment with different inks or colourways, so each version becomes its own interpretation rather than just a reproduction. It keeps the work evolving.

Describe a typical day in your studio.

I usually work in blocks of time, splitting it between carving and printing. Typically, I’ll spend around two months carving a new linocut in Wiltshire, and then about six weeks printing at Northern Print in Newcastle. It means I can fully focus on each stage without switching back and forth.

In Wiltshire, my days are quite structured. I usually arrive in my studio around 9.30am, check my website for enquiries or orders, and pack anything that needs to go out. Then I sharpen my tools, which is a bit of a daily ritual before I start carving. I’ll usually carve from then until around 6pm, and do these five or six days a week. It’s a very slow, detailed process and it needs complete concentration, but that’s also what I enjoy about it: there’s no rushing it, and every mark really matters.

What inspires you?

My inspiration comes from close observation of the natural world, especially animals, insects and fish, and the detail within them. I’m interested in how scale changes the way we see things. How something small can become immersive and detailed when enlarged, or how a large animal can feel more intimate when cropped and focused in on.
I’m also really inspired by the process itself, the discipline of carving, resistance of the material, and the unpredictability of ink and press. Ultimately, what I do is really rooted in looking closely and slowing things down, and trying to understand subjects through making.

What is your favourite printmaking product?

I use a range of specialist tools that I rely on a lot. For carving, I mainly use the Pfeil L12/1 and L11/0.5 V-gouges, which let me achieve both very fine detail and more controlled marks.

A more recent addition I really like is the Maxi Roulette tool by Matthieu Coulanges. It’s handmade, and it allows me to build up textured, stippled areas that add depth and atmosphere to the prints.

During printing, my most essential tool is a bone folder, which I use to burnish areas of the paper and remove any air bubbles or creases. It’s simple, but really crucial to achieving a clean, successful print.

What have you made that you are most proud of?

I find this quite hard to answer because I’m proud of different pieces for different reasons. Each work represents a different stage in my development as a printmaker, and they’ve all had their own challenges and rewards.

Where can we see your work? Where do you sell?

All of my sales are made directly through my website. I’ve worked extremely hard to build both my website and my social media channels to support this way of working. It means I don’t rely on galleries or give away a large percentage of each sale, and from my perspective it makes my studio more streamlined and sustainable. Because I manage everything myself, I’m able to spend more time focusing on making work, rather than dealing with the additional layers that come with selling via other methods.

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

I think consistency is really important, turning up to the studio regularly and treating it like any other job or profession. Being organised with your time and working in a professional way really helps too. I’d also say patience is key, because work develops over time and not everything comes together straight away. 

Staying open to experimentation is important, because that’s often where the most interesting ideas come from.

I think it’s important not to take rejections from galleries or exhibition entries personally. It’s just part of the process, and often it’s not a reflection of the work itself. Being able to keep going and not let it knock your confidence is really important.

To see more from Nicola, follow her on Instagram!

Feeling inspired? Come on down to Bognor Regis to take part in one of our Fab Friday printmaking workshops!

Alternatively, if you would like to try linocut/relief printmaking at home, visit our website where you can get everything you need to get started.