Clare Clinton catches up with Brendan Neiland as he prepares for his 70th birthday and looks back at his printmaking career

In the leafy streets near Wandsworth Common on a sunny afternoon I sat with Brendan Neiland in his garden talking about the solo show he is currently preparing for October. To conicide with his 70th birthday Neiland is showing new canvasses and silkscreen prints at the Redfern Gallery. Like many of our leading contemporary artists Neiland is primarily known as a painter, but he has been printmaking since the early 70s and this has been an integral part of his career. The new exhibition will feature his latest publications with CCA Galleries: Manhattan, Big Apple and Calypso (made for our British Heart Foundation Mending Broken Hearts portfolio Breath of Life).

Neiland met Brad Faine (master printmaker at Coriander Studio) in 1974 when Coriander had just been established. This partnership has prospered ever since, with Neiland and Faine collaborating to create original silkscreen prints at the studio for nearly 40 years. Neiland explained to me how important the element of trust was between artist and print studio, and between artist and publisher. Painting is a solitary pursuit, and part of the joy of printmaking is that the artist gets to collaborate in order to create his print. The artist takes advice from the master printmaker and his team as to how to best achieve the effects he wants in his print, thus the original idea may evolve or change- but in many respects the quality and appearance of the final product is dependent on the skill of the printmakers, so the artist has to feel total confidence in them.

Neiland typically takes 5-6 weeks to create one original silkscreen print. They are always original works of art; he is not interested in making reproductions of his paintings, but in creating completely new works, embracing the working methods and  challenges of printmaking. Neiland does the prepatory work (before going to the print studio) alone in his studio- it can take several weeks to plan the composition of the print and then break this down into seritraces (the different 'screens'/masks through which paint will be applied- the layers building up to create the finished images). Each colour in the finished work requires a screen/seritrace to be created, Neiland prints typically feature around 30 colours, he prefers  to work by hand (rather than digitally) at every stage of the printmaking process, and feels that it is very important for protect these skills for the future. The challenges that he relishes are limiting the amount of colours he can use and creating the richest surface that he can. When creating the seritraces he starts with the base colour, building up to the general colours, and then the exciting intricate details towards the end. When working on a print he can work on nothing else, the intricaces of the design consume him completely. Neiland only takes his work to the print studio when he think there is nothing further he can do at home.

His latest prints are a result of years of experience and experimentation in printmaking and of collaboration with Brad Faine, years of gradually building up knowledge. Their large format, bright colours, complex compositions and sheer wall power are testament to the confidence that Neiland now has when it comes to printmaking. The surface of Manhattan and Big Apple is painterly. rich, detailed, tactile. They are the result of Neiland's recent trip to New York, he strolled around for days on end soaking up the atmosphere and energy, opening up new visions and ideas. They are a good expression of his art at the moment; confident, vibrant, they seem to represent a new lease of life. Neiland says that they express for him what New York is all about: flux and change, wit and humour.

Prints have enabled Neiland work to reach a larger global audience, his prints have been shown in every continent, he also  like the idea of more people being able to own his work because of the relative affordability of prints. In this success the relationship between artist publisher is crucial. Neiland explains that the publisher has to find the artist's idea as exciting as he does himself, and they have to have the confidence to invest in that vision, 'It's amazing to have people with the confidence to invest in living artists- taking that leap of faith. It is a vital support network to have and a validation of your vision as an artist'.

Getting to Know Maggi Hambling

Born in Suffolk in 1945, Maggi Hambling is a distinguished painter and sculptor whose work can be seen in the British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Tate Collection, The Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon and many other public collections in the UK and abroad. She was the first artist in residence at the National Gallery in 1980-81. Her portraits of George Melly and Max Wall are among those of her works in the National Portrait Gallery. Maggi Hambling is a figurative painter, sculptor and printmaker whose strong identification with her subject is expressed in bold handling and colour. In 1998 her statue to commemorate Oscar Wilde- A Converstion with Oscar Wilde was unveiled facing Charing Cross Station. In 2003 Scallop: her sculpure to celebrate Benjamin Britten, was unveiled on Aldeburgh beach in Suffolk.

Clare Clinton had a cup of tea with Maggi and bombarded her with the big questions...

CC: Describe your ethos as as artist/How would you describe your work?

MH: Life dictates what I paint or sculpt. The subject chooses me, rather than me the subject. I leave describing my work to others.

CC: What Inspires you?

MH: The North Sea. Occasionally shocking newspaper images. People I want to paint because I find them moving.

CC: Did you always want to be an artist?

MH: Art began for me when I was surprised by coming top in an art exam at school aged 14. I had done nothing until on seeing the clock announce 3.20pm, knowing that by 3.30pm I had to produce a painting, I did one.

CC: What is an aeverage day in the life of Maggi Hambling?

MH: When in Suffolk I rise at 5am in the summer, 6am in the winter, drive to the sea and draw in my sketchbook. When in London I take the dogs to the park and observe the Thames. In either case I work back in the studio with the first cigarette for a couple of hours before breakfast.

CC: Who are your top 6 artists?

MH: Rembrandt, late Titian, Van Gogh, Rothko, Jackson Pollock and living now- Cy Twombly.

CC: What do you think of the Arts in Britain today?

MH: Alive and full of variety. Exciting.

CC: What is you favourite exhibition space?

MH: Tate Modern

CC: What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

MH: Dogged persistence. Ongoing.

CC: Which talent would you most like to possess?

MH: Tapdancing. With both feet.

CC: What is your favourite daily task?

MH: A large malt whiskey or two as the sun goes down.

CC: You least favourite?

MH: Finding a regretable absence of whiskey.

CC: One book to take to a desert island...

MH: The one I chose to take with me on the programme ie. the complete set of Just William books by Richmore Crompton.

CC: City or country?

MH: Suffolk beats London on every count. As I was born there the ground under my feet, the sky above me and the air that I breathe all feel right. The sunrise and the sea are better than anywhere else.

Sunrise Heart

CC: How would you like people to view your work in the future?

MH: Let's hope there's still some of it around, and that those who don't appreciate it now will realise their previous lack of perception.

CC: Name a current exhibition that you would like to see/would recommend

MH: I must see Miro at Tate Modern, and I have faith that other people will be inspired by it too.

Getting to Know Dan Baldwin

Clare Clinton chats to CCA's newest publishing recruit the supercool Dan Baldwin and finds out what makes him tick....

CC: How would you describe your work?

DB: I'd describe my work as allegorical- suggestive- organic- sometimes they have perspective, sometimes not- they are never planned. They could be subtle and suggestive, delicate and playful, or dreamlike. It all depends on the mood; almost like a composer of music layering, sampling, building up until the balance is just right.

CC: What inspires you?

DB: To be a better artist, to progress forward, to be significant and recognised, success, exciting collaborations, freedom, security, to grow and fulfil ambitions...

CC: What is an average day in the life of Dan Baldwin?

DB: It depends what's on...the house we bought is from 1815, it has a nice feel to it, security is important to me and being at home- where I work as well. So I'm not always in the studio, but I'm surrounded by it all- pottering...I may be in the office working on the website or doing admin, or a vase, or doing research. If I'm painting I'll get in the studio about 11/12 and work until 7 in a really intense burst, usually with music on loud. Then I may go back after dinner from 8 til 10. I bring my paintings into my bedroom when they are nearly finished to really look at them...I can lie there for an hour gazing into the work and scanning across it, maybe it needs a bit more blue or black, to get that balance just right. I often start a piece one way and it ends up totally different- I made one recently that started all in gold leaf, and now there's no gold left!

CC: Your work often features religious imagery- is this symbolic or reflective of personal belief? Is there a spiritual element to your work?

 DB: I believe in positive thinking, and I do have great faith, but I am not religious. I was brought up a Catholic but aged 14 decided to end that relationship. I started using a lot of religious elements after a relationship ended in 2006, but also after a trip to Mexico, and a general assessment of Catholicism. I was making some quite full on pieces like F*** Religion and F*** Politics...quite harsh works. But now it's more an attraction to objects, linking them together; like the crucifix is a beautiful object, same as a knife or a skull is, but religion is a huge cause of major conflicts worldwide- death of nature, of human life, religion, war, politics, it all links- there are links in everything I use- anatomy, vanitas, symbolism, nature, life, death etc, all carefully placed to conflict or juxtapose each other...

Cyclone

CC: What is your favourite work of art?

DB: Either a Francis Bacon piece called 3 Painting from 1946 or his Three Studies for a Crucifixion from 1962. Or a J.M Basquiat piece Undiscovered Genius of the Mississippi Delta from 1983 or Brother's Sausage...but I've been looking at H. Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights recently, which he spent 10 years making and it's an amazing work, especially the panel HELL.

CC: What do you think of the Arts in Britain today?

DB:I'm not sure really, I think it's probably the hottest thing to be right now isn't it- musician/artist etc.? Maybe it's down to Jamie Hewlett or Banksy, Hirst etc- my nephews all want to be artists now, but my sister tells them it took 16 years before I went full time! Tate Modern is one of the most visited places in the UK and since the mid-90s 'cool Britannia' has flown the flag for UK art and culture, from music to fashion etc. London has always had the edge with art, fashion, music etc- I put it down to the bad weather because if you lived in LA you would never get any work done! I stood outside Art Republic [one of our approved stockists in Brighton] and these 16 year olds were saying, 'I f***ing love that piece'- and it was a Banksy or one of mine, and I thought about when I was 16 and we knew nothing about art, only the old masters- so it has to be a good thing. But people are so spoilt and jaded too, as they over saturated with visual imagery. There seems to be this divide; I was placed into an 'urban' bracket for years, which I was not from; but I'm grateful to the explosion in that movement as it helped me. Overall I think the Arts in the UK are pretty healthy...the National Theatre, the RSC, London Art Fair, Affordable Art Fairs etc- they are always packed out.

CC: What is your favourite exhibition space?

DB: I like the Serpentine...

CC: What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

DB: Tricky one...probably getting on the property ladder, or the Bonhams sale of 2008 [in which a piece of mine] went for over £25,000, selling a print for £3200 for charity was nice- as it was still one sale for a fraction of that, students doing projects on my work is a huge thrill, and the birth of baby Dylan last year was life changing.

Hope in Hell

CC: Which talent would you most like to possess?

DB: Hmm...I'd love to read music as I love playing the piano.

CC: Which daily task do you like best?

DB: Chopping logs/lighting the fire and pouring a vodka.

CC: Which daily task do you most dislike?

DB: Getting up.

CC: One book to take to a desert island...

DB: Shakespeare's complete works- I'd have time then and no excuses, or a 'how to swim' manual.

CC: City or country?

DB: Country, but where I can be in the city in a few hours- like West Sussex! Not too remote...

Death at the Parade

CC: How would you like people to view your work in the future?

DB: I think people expect a full on anarchic assault, but the work is actually very gentle; it's about harmony, love, life, beauty and colour...

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