Lithography, Paris 2025

The art of Printmaking has been a favoured medium of mine since University, I learned and loved the print techniques of etching, screen and block printing but there was one printmaking technique known as lithography that was not on offer. Hence, there’s always been an underlying desire (or need) to get my teeth into it.

Lithography is a different process as the design is applied with sticky crayon, paint or ink directly onto a levelled piece of thick limestone. The images is absorbed by the stone and the sticky medium holds onto the ink to create the image. The drawing is then printed onto paper via a printing press. The advantage of this print process is that it can capture hand drawn fine detail and texture so it is ideally suited to my art practice of intuitive line and mark making.

Upon reading and seeing photographs of a surviving Lithography studio known as IDEM in Paris operating since 1880’s I was determined to make contact and apply my hand.

After numerous attempts to contact via email without success, I just booked a ticket to Paris and knocked on the door on October, 3, 2025. Fortunately, I was greeted with interest and enthusiasm and informed two other Aussies had proceeded me.

So I could fulfil my ‘longing’ the IDEM team squeezed me in, thankfully!

Look right and check out the vision of this space, six gigantic presses they look more like train engines than print machines, (only cranes could move them) well greased cranks, cogs and levers. Walls are decked from floor to ceiling with used limestone blocks dated and catalogued, reams of stacked high quality hand made arches paper stacked at the ready, artists working with heads down and a team of professional printmakers working to the rhythm of heavy rollers and equipment. Over head there are glass and iron skylights from the victorian era.
I still feel in awe,

At this point I have completed the design on stone, it is slowly drying so that a layer of gum arabic combined with a touch of nitric acid can seal it as well as, enable ink to be applied for printing.

On Monday, October 20, I’ll witness the registration of the stone on the press, inking up, colour and tone proofing and the grand finale of running off an edition of 50 prints.