James Albon, a Traveling Printmaker

While on the eternal search for people that love the smell of ink, British printmaker James Albon's work  caught my discerning eye as I was on the search for Ethiopian printmakers. He popped up for having done a residency in Ethiopia (envious), and his colorful relief images grabbed my attention, as I am sure you will agree, he has a painterly sensibility via the block and ink.....

James Albon is known moreso as an illustrator than a printmaker., although he, like so many other illustrators, makes his images via a print-based method. He studied art at Edinburgh College of Art, and as one of Britain's younger artists, has been traveling to distant places gathering impressions of culture and daily life for his work.

Albon has jokingly said before that his main inspirations are nicotine and alcohol, but then he goes on to say he feels inspiration comes form seeing like and making critical assessments on society.  A lot of his work is about drawing out what he finds interesting in real life. 

Albon is drawn tot he printed image because it is a counterpart to the immediacy f his drawings and sketches. Above, we see a group of men inside a storefront while people walk by on the street. Some of the other images in this article show people moving about street markets and avoiding crowded avenues filled with tourists,  cabs and motorcycles. Overall, one gets a sense of the bustle of the place and it make us curious to follow the people on the street to round the next corner and see what new adventure lies ahead.

Albon's compositions are tossed askew and his cropping of the images help us become a part of them. This printmaker/illustrator is incorporating his images into books and plays and is a part of art's insistence that new artists want to be adept at multi-media. He is on his way, and we'll keep our eyes upon him.  

To read some more about JamesAlbon and to view more of his work, take a look at his website at http://jamesalbon.com/folio/

Further contact information:

james-albon@hotmail.co.uk   Ph. 07858 957989