ABOUT K M REILLY

A fine art printmaker and painter, Kathys’s work explores the detail of our natural environment, in particular New Zealand’s iconic native forest and offshore island territories.

Kathy has a full time art practice with a focus on drawing and painting. In 1998 Kathy designed and had built a studio & gallery overlooking the family Dairy Farm at Motupipi. For several years she focused on painting “TeaCup Portraits” from her large collection at the historic family home. This work morphed into surreal TeaCup images, using the tea cup as a metaphor in social commentary. A series of cards were produced and still sell well today.

Pen & Ink was of major interest, and Kathy produced over 50 drawings of local Golden Bay, and nationally significant regional buildings, including many commissions.

The desire to further her drawing skills in Printmaking saw Kathy undertake short courses in Intaglio Etching with Jenny Dolezel in 2004 and 2007.

For over two decades, Kathy has explored printmaking, with her early work in etching on zinc. Studying printmaking at Christchurch Technical Institute (Ara) and recently at Malaspina Print Studio, Vancouver, Kathy has been drawn to lithography, and hybrid print - the combination of collagraph and etched cyanotype.

She travels extensively, always with sketchbook in hand, and has found inspiration in galleries large and small, famous and less known throughout the world. Her work reflects her interest in the quirks of personality, and the beauty of the natural world.

Keen to explore installation art, Kathy has studied contemporary art in galleries around the world. Her work is now expanding in scale and taking 3D form. Kathy’s work is shown in galleries throughout New Zealand and in Australia. She is a member of Print Council Aotearoa NZ and is represented by Paper-Works Gallery. Kathy’s artworks are in collections throughout the world, many purchased by collectors and travellers who have visited her studio and gallery in Golden Bay, New Zealand.

ETCHING

Etching is an intaglio printing technique made famous by Rembrandt and others in the 17th Century.

My etchings are produced by the action of nitric acid on zinc plate. The plate is coated with an acid resist ground which is then drawn through to expose the metal. The plate is immersed in acid, which “bites” through the lines drawn. The plate is then cleaned and polished, then inked. The inked plate is buffed clean, leaving the etched lines filled with ink. Dampened paper is laid on the plate which is passed through the press, creating the print.

"Each print in the edition is an original, printed from the plate for that purpose. There is no one original print from which copies are made. Each print is inked and pulled individually – it is a multi-original medium."

Printmaking Techniques and Terms www.nontoxic-printmaking.co.nz