Laney is an artist printmaker who enjoys combining a variety of printmaking methods on the same print. The rough and often difficult use of carborundum grit in various grades creates such deep tones and textures, it is often the main surface on many of her plates. Observational sketches are developed into etchings, collagraphs, carborundum and relief prints. These recordings of her encounters and experiences whilst out walking capture small memorable glimpses, which move her and stay in the mind. Discreet qualities of light at dawn and dusk, and quiet happenings in familiar fields and hedgerows form the inspiration for her atmospheric prints and paintings.
Laney’s landscape work often depicts her fascination with land locked water, in the form of local small ponds and lakes often tucked away in the corner of a field or in a dip behind an overgrown hedge; over the years she has developed a close relationship with her immediate natural environment of Forest Moor near Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.
A reflective still pool of water within the landscape is always a favourite place to sit, draw and think. These pools of light reflecting sun and moon create unending points of reference and inspiration.They act like a lens catching fleeting moments of reflections and weather. Seasonal changes and moon phases also influence images.
As a beekeeper Laney used her passion for helping raise awareness of the plight of our British bees and other pollinators, and ran a project called Swarm, for several years, which received arts council funding and involved an artists collective and hundreds of people printing 50,000 bees on hexagonal pieces of calico, which became a huge walk inside hand printed installation. This project lead Laney to develop a series of artwork and installations inspired by bees, and develop ideas and work with other environmental projects. More recently an ongoing interest in bee forage has moved ideas into woodland projects and the relationship between insects and trees. A new focus on woodland, water and wildlife currently is absorbing her, and new pieces around these themes are in the pipeline.
Laney has exhibited regularly as part of North Yorkshire Open Studios, and at art exhibitions, fairs and events. She has exhibited prints at the Pushing Print Festival in Margate, the Flourish Printmaking Award in Mirfield and the National Original Print exhibition in London. She has been shortlisted for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and has exhibited at the National Original Print Exhibition in London. In 2014 she was awarded the ‘Harrowells’ Prize for the best original print in the show at the Great North Art Show in Ripon Cathedral. In 2015 she has won 2nd Prize for her print work at the Harrogate Open at the Mercer Gallery.
You can view more of Laney’s work on her website: www.laneybirkhead.com
Laney’s landscape work often depicts her fascination with land locked water, in the form of local small ponds and lakes often tucked away in the corner of a field or in a dip behind an overgrown hedge; over the years she has developed a close relationship with her immediate natural environment of Forest Moor near Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.
A reflective still pool of water within the landscape is always a favourite place to sit, draw and think. These pools of light reflecting sun and moon create unending points of reference and inspiration.They act like a lens catching fleeting moments of reflections and weather. Seasonal changes and moon phases also influence images.
As a beekeeper Laney used her passion for helping raise awareness of the plight of our British bees and other pollinators, and ran a project called Swarm, for several years, which received arts council funding and involved an artists collective and hundreds of people printing 50,000 bees on hexagonal pieces of calico, which became a huge walk inside hand printed installation. This project lead Laney to develop a series of artwork and installations inspired by bees, and develop ideas and work with other environmental projects. More recently an ongoing interest in bee forage has moved ideas into woodland projects and the relationship between insects and trees. A new focus on woodland, water and wildlife currently is absorbing her, and new pieces around these themes are in the pipeline.
Laney has exhibited regularly as part of North Yorkshire Open Studios, and at art exhibitions, fairs and events. She has exhibited prints at the Pushing Print Festival in Margate, the Flourish Printmaking Award in Mirfield and the National Original Print exhibition in London. She has been shortlisted for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and has exhibited at the National Original Print Exhibition in London. In 2014 she was awarded the ‘Harrowells’ Prize for the best original print in the show at the Great North Art Show in Ripon Cathedral. In 2015 she has won 2nd Prize for her print work at the Harrogate Open at the Mercer Gallery.
You can view more of Laney’s work on her website: www.laneybirkhead.com
