Our Molly Newport print collection taking a stroll up our Gallery steps
Having joined the Red Door Gallery ranks last December, Molly Newport has become a firm favourite amongst many of our lovely customers. We thought it was about time we shone our wee spotlight on this quirky artist and their charmingly strange creations. We bet you’ve not seen anything quite like Newport before!
A peek at a piece of work from Molly’s University final show in 2016
Based in Manchester UK and producing most of her work from her home studio, Molly graduated from the Manchester School of Art in 2016 with a Textiles degree. She then embarked on a successful mission to become a freelance illustrator. Molly has always reveled in drawing and has developed a wonderfully unique illustration style which is constantly capturing our imaginations. We took a peek at her 2016 Degree Show and were thrilled to see how her style has continued to flourish. Check out Molly’s creature costume above!
Creature Holding Dog A5 Print
£8
And look – the creature above has become a print! Molly’s textile background is inherently present in her illustration creations. The scruffy lines add lots of lovely tactility to this Creature Holding Dog print, part of a series which became a creative vision of embroidery and textile. We can just imagine how interesting those scruffy lines were translated into thread. Molly also has a strong interest in folk lore and magic, and it’s cool to think of the costumed character counterpart to this print, roaming around out there, embellished in embroidery. It certainly stirs our curiosity!
Monster Drawing A4 Print
£12
Molly has many methods for encouraging the conjuring of new ideas and illustrative pieces. These include returning to embroidery which was her Textiles specialism, filling up sketchbooks on a regular basis, finding everyday inspiration during walkabouts and taking the time to sketch from life by attending Life Drawing classes whenever she can. Molly is also exceptionally good at starting and sharing her own personal projects and can be found making delightful zines and writing wee stories that spark her imagination. The doodling creature in the Monster Drawing print is a wonderfully whimsical combination of illustration and digital collage, bringing another of Molly’s cool characters to life in the real world!
Sunflower Collage Card
£3
A frequent attendee at Art & Design Fairs and Markets, Molly loves to sell her wares face to face with customers and takes a lot from these experiences, valuing being able to see audience reactions to her work first hand and discussing with them the ideas behind her illustrations. The Fairs are also the perfect platform for Molly to promote her fantastic Greetings Card collection which is continuously growing with fresh designs. This Sunflower Collage Card is a fabulous example of the many delightful cards that can be found and given to a friend using good old fashioned snail mail, which Molly is also a strong advocate of! So how about checking in with a loved one by sending a cheerful card made by Molly?
A fantastic Molly looking the part at Manchester Print Fair back in 2019
Susie The Septopus Lino Print
£25
A Septopus is an Octopus with just seven legs, and one of the largest species of Octopus there is, didn’t you know?! Well, we didn’t until we were lucky enough to stock Molly’s Susie The Septopus print, an amazing Linocut piece with waves of texture! But is the Septopus a real thing or is it only a story? Molly loves the element of folklore and story telling behind the Susie the Septopus and describes her as ‘a friendly version of the Kraken’ who lost a leg during ‘a counting incident’. Intriguing!
A print by Molly during the Linocut process
House With Rain Print
£20
All the detail in the Molly The Septopus print, including the small boat perched on Suzie’s tentacle, has been achieved through Molly’s skillful linocutting. So have the raindrops and window panes in Molly’s Linocut print House With Rain above. Linocutting is the gradual process of carefully carving a piece of linoleum by hand until all that remains is the intended illustration image. Then depending on how many colours in the design the Linocuts are given a layer of ink and pressed onto paper. And behold, the Linocut printed Susie Septopus and rainy day House are born and Molly should be proud!
We just love our Molly Newport prints all framed together
The artist Molly Newport has even more wonderful prints and Greetings Cards to her name, and new work is arriving at our shop everyday. Check our website to keep up to date. In the meantime, have a great Sunday from us all at The Red Door Gallery! 🙂