Education
1970 – 1974 Lancaster College Of Art. Graduated with Honours, Illustration and Graphic Design.
Experience
During the 1970’s and early 80’s Ian worked in the field of illustration and graphic design, building a solid reputation with the publishing industry as an illustrator of children’s books and a designer and illustrator for academic publications. Ian worked with Douglas & McIntyre, UBC Press, Harbour Publishing and various other international houses.
From 1986 to 2012, Ian helped build Baseline Type & Graphics Cooperative into a thriving creative design studio, working for major corporations, businesses, government agencies and NGO’s telling their stories through well crafted design and marketing solutions.
Ian now uses the skills he gained over 35 years, to apply his thoughts and imagination through personal, interpretive art. Ideas expressed through sketch books, photographs and finalized as digital art, output to either giclée or limited edition laser prints.
Influences
During his extensive travels, lan has visited some of the major world galleries; the Hermitage in St Petersburg, the Tate in London and Manchester, the Lourve in Paris, the National in Washington and Biennale in Venice. Through these collections, from the 18th Century William Turner to Picasso in the 19th Century and Willem de Kooning and the American abstract expressionists in the 20th Century, Ian discovered wonder and amazement when in the presence of such exceptional works of art.
The art of typography is also a keen interest influenced by; William Caslon, John Baskerville, Frutiger, Max Miedinger for their wonderful type designs
and Ian Hamilton Finlay, Dom Sylvester Houédard and Edwin Morgan, for their amazing concrete poetry.
Artistic expression
Ian creates an impression, mood and emotion through use of colour and form. He takes from his immediate environment and reflects a visual metaphor. Assemblage and painting, for example, will turn into an expression of questioning or perhaps anger and a moment to reflect on the environment.