New exhibition of donkey-inspired prints by artist James Green opens in Sheffield

Green began printmaking in 2006 after borrowing some linocut material from a friend and it was a bit of a lightbulb moment for him – he has not looked back. “I didn’t study printmaking when I was a student, so when I discovered it later, there was this real thrill that I had come to a new area of creative art,” he says. “I had always liked graphic art and admired that from afar and then realising that I could do that myself, it was a revelation. I haven’t stopped since – I am always thinking about new prints and I love the whole process of making them as much as the end result.” He says that he enjoys the parameters within which an artist has to work when screen-printing. “There are obviously some limitations in terms of detail and colour, but I really love working within those limitations,” he says. “It makes you think more carefully about the marks you are making.”

The first linocut Green made was of his cat Otto and it wasn’t long before donkeys became a regular subject in his work, alongside his bold, eye-catching prints of landscapes and cityscapes and depictions of other animals. “I had initially wanted to champion donkeys in print-form as I feel that they are somewhat undervalued both in the art world and the real world,” he says. “They always seemed to be in the background, often carrying things, never in the foreground. So, I did this tiny little print of one and that was the catalyst for everything that has followed. It seems to have developed into a whole world of its own which has also allowed me to experiment.”

Many of us of a certain age will remember the joys of summertime donkey rides on the beaches of the Yorkshire coast and perhaps feel a little nostalgic about donkey s, as well as appreciating the work that they have traditionally done, and in some parts of the world continue to do, as beasts of burden. “They are just such charming creatures,” says Green. “There is a sort of awkwardness about them too which is something I can relate to and I think other people might relate to that as well.” The prints have certainly proved very popular and Green’s donkey prints adorn the walls of many homes across the region.

Green’s success extends well beyond Yorkshire though – he has produced commissions for Paul Smith Menswear, English Heritage and Hudson Records and has appeared on Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year and Landscape Artist of the Year. His work has been widely exhibited around the country. The donkey prints remain a central part of his creative practice and for the exhibition he has produced a new series of prints entitled Donkey Monoliths which are on sale exclusively in the gallery shop. “Most of my prints begin with drawings, but this range started off as plasticine models,” says Green. “I am inspired by sculpture, particularly the work of Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, and I decided to try making some sculptural forms and then created the linocut from the models. It is quite a long process but it informs the 3D-ness of the landscape.”

Over the course of the decade and a half since Green began his donkey odyssey, he has seen the project develop in interesting ways. “The initial idea has become a far more surreal concept than I could have ever imagined,” he says. “The donkeys began adventures in familiar settings, but these soon became weird locations and dream worlds fed by my unconscious. It became clear that I was not only celebrating donkeys and their personalities, but it was also a celebration of the concept of freedom, for them, myself and the viewer. I don’t always feel like I’m in complete control of where the donkeys are heading, but I’m very glad that I’m alongside them for the journey.”

At the Millennium Gallery, Sheffield until October 8. Free entry. To see more of James Green’s work visit folksy.com/shops/jamesgreenprintworks