IllustrationX - Burin and Plate portfolio

Burin and Plate is the printmaking practice founded by artist Ella Flavell in Dudley, West Midlands, UK. Skilfully working by hand to produce linocut prints, she creates artworks of unmatched authenticity depicting magical cityscapes and architecture while gently conveying a timeless narrative through contrast, pattern and texture.

Dudley and its environs are one of Ella’s greatest sources of inspiration and within it she seeks the overlooked details and forgotten figments of beauty. She seems to find the soul of the post-industrial landscape in her linocut illustrations – from the canals and bridges to the Victorian workshops and on to the area’s impressive yet little-known gothic architecture. Ella is almost entirely self-taught, developing her techniques and style by studying the work of other printmakers, experimenting and discovering what works and what feels right within her own visual lexicon. She’s deeply influenced by art history, medieval wood cuts and great 19th- and 20th-Century printmakers such as Felix Vallotton, Oskar Kokoschka and Eric Ravilious.

Approach

Ella’s linocut process is carried out entirely by hand, from the sketching to the carving to the printing. She begins with a story and works out how to convey that through a single composition, focusing on the mood and using pattern and contrast to reveal deeper meaning.

Key software

In the past, Ella has used Procreate to produce works for clients that reflect a linocut style, but computers are not part of her usual practice.

Style

Ella’s highly individual style reinterprets the forms and patterns of the built environment in a unique and impactful way. There is a hint of expressionism in her depictions of ancient architecture, while her figurative studies have an intimate feel to them. She uses positive and negative space deftly, whether in the composition overall or within its finer details.