Rob Barnes studied painting and printmaking at Hull College of Art and London University in the early 1960s. He taught etching, screen-printing, linocut and related surface printmaking at Keswick Hall College in Norfolk. He later moved to the University of East Anglia where he continued teaching in the School of Education until 2006. He is based in South Norfolk.

He has exhibited regularly in London and many of his etchings and linocuts are in private collections, here and abroad. More recently he has returned to linocuts, enjoying the strong physical nature of this medium. His linocuts are inspired mainly by the landscape of East Anglia. Effects of light and colour, weather and atmosphere contribute to the final linocut. Recent work has been inspired by observing the changing fields and wildlife through the seasons. Coastal prints are inspired by Norfolk and Suffolk waterways. All prints are in limited editions.

“I enjoy the challenge of cutting lino with a certain freedom in the cutting strokes. I also find printmaking fascinating when I blend and graduate colours. This gives me an opportunity to play with light and shade, much as I first saw it in the subject that inspired the idea.”