What inspires your hand-carved lino prints?
When I picked up my first lino block back in 2019, I carved a picture of our little cat Lottie, asleep on the bed. Very soon though (with 2020 keeping us all at home and apart from loved ones) I was drawn to images of my homeland, ‘snapshots’ of Cornwall and the coast, a part of the country that means so very much to me. I do dabble in prints of iconic retro classics, such as record players and also enjoy capturing veg from our allotment (my artichoke print is a bestseller) but my heart is forever captivated by the Cornish coastline and those who make their lives next to and on the water.
Why is the South West Coast Path important to you?
I grew up in a little village just outside Falmouth and the coast path was where I was taken for walks as a child, where I met my friends as a teenager, where I escaped for an evening stroll and somewhere I totally took for granted. The path offers you a different perspective on the landscape and on life itself – it encourages you to look ‘out’, into the distance, out to the horizon, not down at your feet or inland to the day you’ve left behind. It’s a wonderful way of exploring what, in my opinion, is the most beautiful part of the country. Around every corner a new cove, a beautiful harbour and a different way to view the coastline. Nowadays, it’s where my wife and I walk at weekends and the perspective the path offers out to sea has influenced me in a different but very direct way – in the composition of my recent work.
How does the coast and Coast Path inspire your creativity?
A number of my more recent prints play with perspective and combine an aerial view with a more traditional horizon. My large Portscatho print is a perfect example of this and it’s clear that taking the opportunity to really stand and soak up the view on the South West Coast Path has been instrumental to my development as an artist. I’m keen to explore this technique further and will be striding out on the path again as soon as I can in search of more ideas. I’ve also always been fascinated by the way footpaths sculpt themselves through the landscape: furrows, trenches and deep grooves where thousands have walked before me, a sense of history carved into the landscape. Being by the sea at any time of year is just a huge inspiration – whether it’s a stormy day with gunmetal skies or the sea is a clear, turquoise millpond, I love it all. And the coast path offers a never-ending opportunity to explore, whatever the weather.
How does your Cornish heritage feed into your work?
I never thought I’d leave Cornwall – it’s in my soul and in my blood. However, as a young man I found work in Oxfordshire as a busy photographer, which (despite being rather landlocked!) I have enjoyed very much. My printmaking was a hobby (I can’t sit idle) and became a medium for me to connect with my homeland, through carvings of fishing boats, harbours, crabs and the coastline. Now, my printmaking has taken the front seat and in a wonderful full circle, the popularity of the prints has enabled me to return to live in Cornwall. It’s an absolute dream to finally ‘come home’ to the Helford area and there is no doubt that my Cornish prints have enabled us to make this move – drawing us back to where we belong. It feels like fate.
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Mark Lord is a lino print artist who is Cornish born and bred. Mark grew up just outside Falmouth and has spent the last 25 years working as a photographer and printmaker in rural Oxfordshire. His work however, is deeply connected to his Cornish roots and the coast that he calls home.
The South West Coast Path 