Nanaimo printmaking artist featured at Art 10<\/p>\n
Published 5:45 am Monday, January 26, 2026<\/p>\n
Inspiration came after retirement for Julia Banford, the latest artist featured at Art 10 Gallery.<\/p>\n
Banford\u2019s printmaking work will be on display over the month of February.<\/p>\n
The artist was trained on printmaking while studying graphic arts and communications at University of the Fraser Valley, but once she landed a career at Canada Post, that training was put on the back burner, outside of custom holiday cards. After retirement, she found herself with time on her hands and a chance to once again pick up the chisel and experiment a little.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter I retired I kind of got back into it,\u201d Banford said. \u201cI just like it and it\u2019s challenging because you have to think backwards all the time. It\u2019s just visual.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her work starts with taking photographs, usually on walks with her dogs of local birds, trees, or even shadows reflected in the sand. After returning to the studio, she edits it with a designing app and inverts the image, before tracing it on carbon paper, then carving it out on a battleship grey linoleum tile. That tile is then covered in ink, with the colours she wants, and she presses it like a large stamp, creating intricate designs on her final canvas, which she then frames.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do mostly lino printing, so if you\u2019re doing an image with any lettering, you have to carve it out backwards, when it\u2019s printed it will be forward. Kind of like newspaper, it\u2019s like the old days when they used to do hand-type setting where it is upside down and backwards so it would print forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
While she mostly uses her own images, Banford does occasionally use others, mainly sea life, including orcas and seals, which she enjoys featuring. The main two pieces that will feature in her exhibit are trees created from scratch. One is an arbutus, and the other an aspen which came from a photo she took.<\/p>\n
\u201cI take [photos of] trees constantly, then I\u2019ll think, \u2018Why did I take that picture?\u2019 So I just have photos from when I\u2019m hiking with [my dogs], if I\u2019m up on the hills and find really cool trees or whatever, I\u2019ll take pictures.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linoleum is used for its smooth surface texture and easiness to cut, yet one of the most challenging parts comes from carving, she said, because \u201conce you carve it out you can\u2019t put it back.\u201d<\/p>\n
The process is long, can be stressful, but not without rewards.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you get it all sorted out and you get printing it can be relaxing, it is nerve-wracking and just the challenge of it is fun. You just never know how well it is going to turn out or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
The easiest part, she said, is the printing, while carving and designing is where most of the challenge is. Despite this, some screenprints still don\u2019t turn out the way she wants, and in those cases she still finds a use by turning them into her custom business cards \u2013 scraps of failed pieces on one side, her contact information on the other.<\/p>\n
For people who are interested in learning printmaking, Banford recommends getting started with online tutorials and purchasing a basic set from an art store. The company Speedball produces printmaking kits, which she said could be useful for new artists.<\/p>\n
\u201cI use \u2026 Cranfield Caligo Safe Wash Relief Ink. It\u2019s an oil-based, but soap and water washable ink, it\u2019s really nice to work with. Speedball ink is OK, but it is water-based and it dries really quickly and it gets kind of thick. I use it for when I\u2019m doing practice prints just to see when I need to adjust things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Banford said she would like to expand her work to include painting and collage.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce I get this show up I\u2019m going to start goofing around a bit more and doing some painting, but I\u2019ve never been a very good painter, but it\u2019s practice, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Banford\u2019s work will be on display at Art 10 Gallery until the end of February, and she will be in attendance at the gallery on Tuesdays through the month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.<\/p>\n
More information can be found on Banford\u2019s work on her Instagram at www.instagram.com\/julesbeez<\/a>.<\/p>\n