Name

Michael Hopkinson

Culture

Australian

Gender

Male

Birth date

1953

Birth place

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia View on map Close map

Occupations

Printer | Printmaker

Summary

Worked: Australia (NSW).

Context

Australia

Biography

Michael Hopkinson

Michael Hopkinson was born Sydney in 1953 and worked in the screenprinting industry on and off for a number of years after leaving school. Paul Delprat, who was the art teacher at Newington, got him into the Julian Ashtons Art School where he studied drawing for about two years. He then went to Alexander Mackie College where he learned screenprinting as an artist’s creative medium and etching. After mastering these skills he began teaching. At this time he established his own studio and made his own screenprinting printing equipment. Graeme Townsend (a friend from his Newington years) encouraged him to screen print editions for him. Other artists from the Barry Stern Art Gallery liked these prints and from 1981 to 1983 he editioned prints for artists such as Ray Crook, Jim Willibrant, Geoffrey Proud and Blake Twigden. He also editioned some of Delprats etchings.

Regarding his screenprinting for artists Hopkinson notes ‘They were hand-done and not 4 colour half-tone reproductions. I used different screenprinting techniques and involved artists in the print. They would draw (on tracing paper or clear plastic), mix colours etc. Some of these editions were printed in 20 to 30 colours and took over a month to produce. Sadly I had to stop printing because most artists decided to do reproduction prints (giclee) instead of hand done prints’.

[Michael Hopkinson and Roger Butler, November 2021]