JENNY PORTLOCK

JENNY PORTLOCK

Having successfully qualified in Graphic Design, Jenny Portlock started her career as a Book Designer for childrensʼ books, designing books and commissioning illustrations for educational publishers such as the Longman Group and the Oxford and Cambridge University Presses.

.Alongside her design work she began producing her own linocuts and then progressed to wood engraving to enable her to achieve finer detail. “I feel this experience has greatly influenced the way I work now, giving my engravings and linocuts their strong graphic quality”.

Portlock’s inspiration is drawn from her own imagination and is also influenced by her thoughts and feelings about life. Her designs are often dream-like, but with a hidden meaning or an emotion that she is trying to express. She likes to mystify the image and make people think, but in a positive way. She loves intricate detail and rhythmical shapes.

Portlock’s wood engravings are printed on a modified etching press using acid-free mould-made papers of high quality. All of her engravings are signed, editioned and hand- embossed with her own imprint. She is an elected member of the Society of Wood Engravers.

For the last six years she has been living in rural SW France with her photographer husband where they pursue their art and share their enjoyment of the landscape of the region.