The artist, Stuart Hammond, has spent several years studying Japanese woodblock prints of the late Edo & early Meiji periods and was fortunate to be able to examine in detail many thousand from the collections of the British Museum, the Boston Museum of Fine Art, & the Ritsumeikan University.
These images have long had an influence on western art inspiring different uses of compositional space, flattening of planes, and abstract approaches to colour along with an emphasis on diagonals, asymmetry, and negative space. They have inspired artists as varied as Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Klimt and Rennie Mackintosh.
His drawings and sketches are finished digitally giving the textured finish and vibrant colours of the woodblock print. Giclee printed by the artist himself, he also controls all aspects of the manufacture of the finished item, mounting and framing himself.
He has also created the Studio MPR and Atomic Age ranges of sci-fi, horror and fantasy prints, posters and t-shirts.