Liz Jones is a print designer based in Cumbria, specialising in the print processes of lino-cutting and screen printing to create her enchanting nature-inspired designs.
Is is easy to see why Liz’s homeware designs have been a popular addition to many living spaces. From light shining through the trees to a fox walking through a snowy landscape, there is something calming about the British countryside and it’s wildlife that Liz depicts in her printed rural scenes.
“My inspiration has always been nature inspired - I firmly believe if you focus on what you love, then this shows in the finished results.”
Liz collects inspiration for her designs whilst out walking, usually in her local woods. She then uses her own photographs as the inspiration from which she produces a colour sketch.
“I transfer this onto a lino block to begin the repeated process of carving and printing. I refer to the sketch and photo when carving each layer and as a colour guide when mixing the ink. My reduction lino cuts typically have six to eight layers of colour, though this varies. I do enjoy working with a limited colour palate.”
Particularly when it comes to colour, lino cut requires some adjustment as the design progresses. The colours can often look different as the layers build up. Liz starts out with an idea of how she would like the finished print to look but this has to be tweaked as she goes.
“Sometimes it’s a case of holding my nerve and hoping it will work out! There’s often a point in the process when I panic that I’ve misjudged a colour. There is no going back at this point as the block has already been carved for the previous colours. At the end of the process the printing block is obsolete as only the last layer remains.”
Liz has always loved using these analogue processes but notes a turning point was when, a couple years into selling her prints full time, she started to print onto fabrics. Today, printing fabric and making homeware takes up most of Liz’s time.
“My work can be separated into two distinct practises; limited edition original reduction lino-prints which are detailed and involve printing a number of layers, carving into the block between printing each layer to build up an image; and the textile designs which also begin as a linocut but are then transferred onto silk screens in various sizes to be screen printed onto the fabric”
Whilst Liz’s designs successfully translate well onto homeware products such as drum lampshades and cushions, she does have to be mindful of pattern repeats and consider how the fabric will pick up the print.
“I expose all of my screens at home and as I’ve improved my practises I’m able to expose large screens which are much easier when printing lampshade panels.”
Liz loves the process of hand-printing and the life it brings to designs but she also chooses to work digitally for designs which would be particularly complicated to print or involve printing onto very large pieces of fabric. With digital becoming more well-known as a printing process, Liz often finds herself explaining the difference between an original print and digital print.
“Many people hear ‘print’ and assume it’s a digital print and don’t appreciate how original prints differ from this. It’s also a very physical process: carving the lino blocks, inking up and printing. Screen printing using large frames is also very hard work at times.”
Another common misconception is the variety and scope of work required to be an artisan full-time.
“Being an artisan involves so much more than creating, it involves managing finances and marketing etc. Luckily I have a lot of support from my husband who helps out in many practical ways and loves attending the events.”
Although Liz has a studio at Brougham Hall near Penrith, where you'll often meet her husband, she mainly works from home and describes her home studio as “chaotic.”
“I’m very untidy and the printing processes involve a lot of kit! I’m based at home which I love but it means I’m never away from it. Other than my morning dog walk a working day doesn’t involve a set pattern. It depends on orders and events I have coming up.”
Liz is fortunate that a normal working week is usually dominated by the creative printing aspect of her business that she loves.
“It usually involves a couple of days of printing, a couple of days of lampshade and cushion making interspersed with stripping and exposing silk screens ready for printing different designs. I usually have a number of Linocut prints on the go which I progress as and when I can.”
A new and exciting project that has been added to Liz’s weekly agenda in March 2025 is ‘Nest’ - a shop opened by Liz and three other makers in a unit at the creative venue Rheged near Penrith. They also plan to promote other local craftspeople by inviting three guest makers per quarter to exhibit with them for a fixed period.
What better place to showcase Liz's printed celebrations of the British countryside, than near Lake Ullswater in the Lake District.
If you want to see more of Liz's work or join one of her printmaking workshops click here.
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