Diane Griffiths

Painter/Printmaker/Book Artist

Diane is a painter and printmaker who also specialises in artist books. She paints landscapes, still-lives and figurative acrylics on board and canvas. She is an innovative printmaker working in both traditional and new mediums, from wood engraving and linocuts to polymer etchings and collagraphs, as well as letterpress hand-set type.

She runs the Crataegus Press, her imprint for her hand made artist books, and helps run the Hawthorn Press with her husband, the writer Alan Byford. Set up in 1994 the Hawthorn Press specialises in small edition poetry chap books.

Diane has been a full time printmaker and painter since the 1980’s. After graduating in illustration, she became interested in etching and attended workshops at Gainsborough’s House in Suffolk. In 1987 she moved to Norfolk to set up her business, Etching Et Cetera, supplying hand-printed cards to over a hundred galleries throughout the UK, including the V & A Craftshop, Manchester Royal Exchange and Paperchase. Later
she opened a gallery in Wells-next-the Sea.

Now concentrating on her own work she has, over the last 10 years, exhibited her prints and paintings throughout the UK, in both solo and mixed shows. In 2003 she was Artist in Residence for the Poetry next the Sea festival in Norfolk and was commissioned by North Norfolk District Council to provide work for a concert showcasing contemporary music in conjunction with the Britten Sinfonia. She is currently working on two books
commissioned for Salthouse 2010 and Bergh Apton Sculpture Trail 2011.

The environment is important to Diane, and she now uses as many non-toxic printmaking techniques and materials as possible.

She currently works in her Norfolk studio and occasionally travels to venues as a guest tutor in printmaking and book arts.