I've been a fan of his work for decades and I'm delighted to own of his pieces. I think I have a copy of every book of his work that has been published to date. It's wonderfully British, delightfully eccentric and always makes me smile.
That eccentricity extends to his process too as his etchings are made in the traditional way using techniques that are, as Graham says, '200 years out of date'. The drawing is made by scratching a negative into a copper plate and etching with acid. The plate is then inked and put through an antique rolling press. The resulting picture - and every one is slightly different depending on how the ink has sat in the etched lines - is then hand-coloured.
They're all great fun. As Clarke says, 'I like making pictures that make people feel better, not worse.'
Here are a couple of films - with a couple of decades between them - showing him at work.
And, carrying on the sense of whimsy, here's a sweet little film featuring Clarke called The Battered Cod. What's particularly nice for me to see is that the film is set mostly around Cadgwith on the Lizard Peninsula, very close to where I grew up. It all looks very familiar and nostalgic. In fact, it was Clarke's book Bait Box Stew - a collection of drawings and paintings made in this area - that first drew me to his work and I'm delighted to own a signed copy.
Graham's website is here. Despite now being in his eighties he's still producing new art and has regular open studio days.
A true British original.
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