Brian Hanscomb

Brian followed the family tradition and was apprenticed at the age of 16 in the print industry, in his case, as a letter press engraver, later qualifying as a gravure industrial engraver. He left the print industry in 1979 to work full time as an artist engraver at home, now in Cornwall and does, in fact, work in two very different media: copperplate engraving and in pastel & gold/platinum/palladium leaf collage.

Private Collections:

Government Art Collection; Victoria & Albert Museum National Art Library, London; Royal Cornwall Museum & Art Gallery, Truro, Cornwall; Science Museum Art Gallery, London; Wessex Collection, Longleat House, Wiltshire; New York Public Library Print Collection; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; John Creasey Museum, Salisbury, Wilts; South Hams District Council

His work:

He loves, and is inspired by, the work of many artists, including early English romantics, notably the followers of William Blake such as Samuel Palmer and Edward Calvert. He also gains much inspiration from the landscape especially that of Bodmin Moor, around which he frequently rides on his bicycle.

A spiritual aspect often imbues his work through his appreciation of Zen Buddhism and personal aspects of Christianity; the latter particularly shown in the engraving “Christ appears in the Factory”. Very often a small snail appears, a quirky symbol of his work and also the Zen Buddhist meditational walk of Kinhin, reflecting just how long some engravings take.

Exhibitions include:

• Bankside Gallery                                                   London
• Brook Gallery                                                        Devon
• Gallery 49                                                             Cornwall
• The Art Stable                                                       Dorset
• Churchgate Gallery                                               Somerset