Vicky Oldfield Artist / Printmaker

Vicky Oldfield Artist / Printmaker A print making studio, visit by appointment only

Just back from a brilliant week teaching at North Yorks Art Scool, and managed to fit in a mini holiday after, Yorkshire...
01/09/2026

Just back from a brilliant week teaching at North Yorks Art Scool, and managed to fit in a mini holiday after, Yorkshire was so beautiful.
One of the things I love most about teaching is the variety you get when you take ten people, give them exactly the same materials and techniques, and then encourage them to follow their own ideas.

A huge thank you to all the students for throwing themselves into it and making it such an enjoyable week, and a big thank you to all the team at north york art school who work so hard behind the scenes to make these courses happen.

Planning to be back next summer.
North Yorks Art School

If you follow me you will know all about my thistle obsession.At first glance they can seem prickly and unapproachable, ...
24/08/2026

If you follow me you will know all about my thistle obsession.

At first glance they can seem prickly and unapproachable, but look a little closer and there is so much beauty in them. Those vivid flowers emerging from all those protective spines, growing in places where many other plants struggle.

That’s what inspired me to call this print Resilience.

I think there is something rather wonderful about the way thistles just get on with it. They survive, adapt and keep growing, and somehow manage to be beautiful while doing so.

Like all my collagraphs, each print is individually inked, printed by hand and then carefully hand-coloured. So although it is part of an edition, every one is slightly different and completely unique.

Resilience
Original hand-coloured collagraph
Image size: 50 x 50 cm
£450

Now available on my website.

I’ve always loved the wildflowers that aren’t necessarily the most delicate or obvious. Do you have a favourite wildflower?

21/08/2026

The glamorous side of printmaking

Inking up a new collagraph plate looks quite satisfying, but what you don’t see is just how much time goes into the wiping.

And when there’s carborundum involved, “gently wiping the plate” is often more like cleaning, scrubbing, cleaning again… and then scrubbing some more!

Sometimes I feel that a large part of my job is actually cleaning. Cleaning plates, cleaning rollers, cleaning tools, cleaning the press… and somehow getting ink absolutely everywhere.

But it’s all part of the process. The way the ink is wiped back determines how much texture and tone remains on the plate, so those seemingly endless minutes of wiping really do make a difference to the finished print.

This is the bit of printmaking you don’t necessarily see in the finished artwork, lots of patience, a fair amount of elbow grease, and very inky hands.

Do you ever wonder how long it takes to make an original print? This is just one small part of it!



RiseI’ve always been fascinated by thistles, spiky,architectural beauties.They aren’t delicate flowers in the traditiona...
17/08/2026

Rise

I’ve always been fascinated by thistles, spiky,architectural beauties.

They aren’t delicate flowers in the traditional sense. They’re strong, protective and wonderfully resilient, yet when they bloom they reveal an extraordinary beauty.

This piece is called Rise because it reminds me that growth often comes quietly. We all face setbacks, difficult seasons and unexpected challenges, but like the thistle, we keep going always looking for the light and easier times.

Nature has a remarkable way of reminding us that strength and beauty can exist side by side.

This original collagraph has been individually inked and printed by hand from my original collagraph plate before being carefully hand coloured. As part of a variable edition of 30, every print has its own unique character.

14/08/2026

Things you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find in a printmaker’s toolbox…

A bookbinding tool?
A sewing wheel?
And a few other slightly unlikely suspects…

These are some of the tools I use to make marks and textures on my collagraph plates. They may have been designed for something completely different, but in the studio they become part of the process of creating an original print.

I love this bit, experimenting, making a mark, seeing what happens, and never quite knowing exactly how it will translate onto paper. That element of surprise is one of the things that keeps me hooked on collagraph.

Because sometimes the best tools aren’t the obvious ones… they’re the ones lurking in the wrong drawer! 😄




Wild and WonderfulI just love seeing poppies growing wild in unexpected places, they appear wherever the soil has been d...
10/08/2026

Wild and Wonderful

I just love seeing poppies growing wild in unexpected places, they appear wherever the soil has been disturbed, along field margins, roadside verges, building sites and freshly turned earth, bringing an unexpected burst of colour to the landscape.

I love that sense of freedom.

To me, poppies are a reminder of nature’s remarkable ability to reclaim a place with beauty. Their delicate petals may only last a short while, but while they’re in flower they transform the landscape and are impossible to ignore.

I have made many artworks of poppies in this one I wanted to capture the movement, colour and exuberance of one of Britain’s best-loved wildflowers.

Each collagraph is individually inked, printed by hand from the original plate and carefully hand coloured, so every impression has its own unique character.

I’ve just added Wild and Wonderful to my website, where you can see more photographs and read about the inspiration behind the piece.

I’ve always loved the contradiction of thistles.Armed with fierce, protective spines, they reveal one of our most beauti...
07/08/2026

I’ve always loved the contradiction of thistles.

Armed with fierce, protective spines, they reveal one of our most beautiful native flowers. They ask us to look beyond first impressions and discover the unexpected beauty hidden within.

For this picture, I wanted the print to feel less confined, so I cut the collagraph plate to follow the shape of the thistle itself. Rather than keeping everything within a neat square, the spiky leaves reach beyond the edge of the plate, giving the print a sense of movement and allowing the composition to breathe.

It’s a small detail, but one that reflects the way nature refuses to be contained.

Like all of my collagraph prints, each impression is individually inked, hand printed from the original plate and carefully hand coloured, making every print unique.

✨ I’m delighted to say that Sharp Beauty has now been added to my website, where you can see more images and details of the print.

🔗 Link in my bio.

Sharp Beauty – Original hand-coloured collagraph print.

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Esher

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