JULIAN BAILEY is highly acclaimed for his brightly coloured, seemingly effortless paintings and drawings usually of people enjoying themselves on boats and by the sea. Over the last three or four years however, Julian has been working extensively from the model in his studio in Drypoint etching. ‘I am so very excited to be giving a number of these Drypoints their first outing at Sladers Yard this Summer,’ he writes. Julian is showing his new figure work with some prints of more familiar subject matter, handled in the more economical way demanded by the printing technique. 

‘The etchings are made in small groups of twelve usually by me on a hand-turned press. A few I select to be ‘over painted‘ in gouache, making each coloured etching a one-off picture. The greatly simplified line of the diamond tip scoring into the metal plate gives off a beautiful black velvety mark, which is the unique hallmark of Drypoint. This compliments the brilliant quality of the gouache paint to make the special combination that goes into these artworks. There is a new book of etchings to accompany my work in this exhibition, called Hold the Pose, which is available from the gallery.’