He grew up in Wolverhampton, as landlocked a place as you're likely to find in the British Isles.

It wasn't until his teens that Jason Hicklin actually saw the coast, on a family trip to North Wales. Now 42, he still looks upon the sea as somewhat exotic, a thrill that seems unlikely to wane.

Something about the colours, the light, the movement, the smell and unpredictability of the sea has always fixated him, and all of his work these days features it, whether drawing, working in oils, or etching – a craft he learned at the knee of one of the greats, Leeds-born Royal Academician Norman Ackroyd.

Since graduation, first from St Martin's in 1988, then the Central School of Art in 1993, Hicklin has conducted an increasingly intense relationship with the sea, spending weeks at a time treading hundreds of miles of coastal paths, exploring Britain's off-shore islands, and navigating little boats through choppy seas to observe the land from afar.

Travelling light and working only with a stick of graphite, razor, sketchbook and a little water (usually provided by the rain), he fills book after book with raging weather, churning sea, rugged outcrops, the swirl, sway and crash of water against rock.

He captures movement with stunning strokes of oil on canvas that conjure up an almost-3D effect. Some of these images are not for those inclined to seasickness. His etchings encapsulate in a space that's typically only 15cm x 40cm, the intensity of powerful landscape battered by uncontainable elements.

Favourite subjects are the Inner Hebrides and the northern part of the west coast of Eire around Mayo and Donegal, where he has also spent artistic residences over the last 16 years.

"I've lost drawing equipment over a cliff a couple of times, as I do walk rather close to the edge," says Hicklin. "I am mesmerised by the ocean. Every time you glance it's different. In Ireland and the Scottish islands the light is amazing, and pulls you back over and over again."

He's just back from Donegal and about to go to County Antrim, then the island of Jura. In a deliberate move to preserve the thrill and anticipation about each journey, he chooses to live in landlocked, albeit scenic, Shropshire.

His feelings about the places he has visited regularly are now bound up with local people and their views about their environment. "I take pictures and etchings back and show them to the locals. Some of them think it's a god awful place and can't wait to get out. They're curious about what it is that fascinates me," says Hicklin.

"Maybe I'm just being sentimental, but I think when they see the landscape through my eyes it perhaps makes them realise how special it is."

A devoted teacher of etching at many colleges around the UK, he has also held workshops in the west of Ireland and is in the process of helping to set up a permanent studio in Donegal. It was Norman Ackroyd who lit the fire of his passion for the medium as a student at Central School.

"To be honest, in every other medium the attitude was 'do what you like'. It was only Ackroyd who seemed to have something to teach you and he was a very generous teacher." Hicklin went on to work as a printmaker with the older artist.

"The power in etching lies, for me, in the act of destruction being used to create something new and positive. Etching, the act of using corrosion to create a positive image, has a completely unique quality that ink and paper doesn't achieve. Its effect is very intimate."

Hicklin takes three painstaking months over each set of etchings, then lives with the suite of images for another couple of months to ensure they feel right before they are viewed by others.

Like many artists, he is completely at home in his own company. As he treads wild coastlines, he stops not only to sketch but to make notes about the weather, wildlife, vegetation and details of the history of the place as he comes across them.

One spot that has become a favourite is Tory Island off Donegal, with its community of 150 who speak only Gaelic. He has also found himself walking in the footsteps of St Columba around the Hebrides. "It's very romantic to think that I have stood perhaps on the very spot where he stood so long ago."

Those in the know cite Jason Hicklin as one of those "slow burn" artists, whose work is growing in quality with each passing year. Prices for pieces in his show in Yorkshire (from £295 to £2,000) might well prove to have been a snip in hindsight.

"I feel the work is getting better and better. Growing as an artist is a lifelong experience."


Jason Hicklin's work can be seen until August 11 at Artco, 1 Meanwood Close, Leeds. For information call 0113 262 0056 or visit www.
artco.co.uk