Working from a small studio in her Kendal cottage, as well as outdoors, Angie Mitchell is a printmaker inspired by the flora and fauna of Cumbria as well as trips to the Scottish islands with partner her Hugh Taylor.

A member of The Lake Artists Society, Cumbria Printmakers and Green Door Artists, Angie exhibits in galleries around the county.

What I do each day depends very much on the weather. I’m a very outdoorsy person, and do a lot of sketching in my allotment. My tiny studio gets very untidy, so I often need to sort and tidy it, which actually gets the creative juices going: switching the conscious mind off seems to generate ideas. I quite like a wet day as I can just get on with my printing.

My prints are mostly linocuts, although I work in collagraph as well. It’s an intaglio form of printmaking, in contrast to lino, which is relief printing. I like to combine them both, and I also do drypoint, another intaglio method which is more like drawing, very fine and tonal.

There have been many highlights over the years, including owning my own, The Laal Studio, for four years. Being elected to The Lake Artists Society after winning their print award was great too, as was showing with Cumbria Printmakers at Brantwood this year. This year has been good as Blackwell and Abbot Hall are now selling my prints and cards, as is Northern Lights Gallery, in Keswick.

Sketching in the wild, especially in the Scottish islands, can be pretty challenging at times. I always take sketchbooks there, and our camper van becomes my studio. Back home I love the process of carving a block in the studio while listening to Radio 4: I get so absorbed a whole day goes by. That’s a nice place to be.

Life’s very busy, but then my life feeds my work and vice versa whether it’s gardening in my allotment, out in nature and watching wildlife. Hughie and I do a lot of fell walking too, as well as going off in our camper van to Scotland, and I’m also keen on wild swimming.

I’m exhibiting with Green Door Artists at their Affordable Art Exhibition at The Roundhouse, Staveley, on November 22-25, as well having an open studio/print sale on the weekend of November 30: check my website for details. Otherwise, I’ll just be getting on working on my own professional practice and improving my skills as a printmaker.

My ambition is to exhibit with the Society of Wildlife Artists at Bankside, in London, and ultimately become a member of the society. I submitted this year but was rejected; I’ll try again though. I also want to do more sketching in the field, out in nature, and of course would love to have a solo exhibition somewhere, sometime.

angiemitchellartist.co.uk

Instagram: @thelaalstudiogallery

greendoor.org.uk

cumbriaprintmakers.co.uk

lakeartists.org.uk