A Day In The Life Of Printmaker Lindy Norton

“I love it down there,” she says. “I feel cut off from the rest of the world.” Lindy Norton is a printmaker, painter and illustrator, exploring ambiguity, mystery and the subtle traces people leave behind through her intricate dry-point etchings. By capturing her delicate characters in cavernous hallways and darkened alleyways, she creates scenes that feel familiar yet uncertain, inviting viewers to imagine the stories hidden within them.

Since completing an MA at Chelsea School of Art in 1985, Lindy has developed a practice rooted in observation. Her recent work has continued to evolve through her current MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art, where she has been investigating the relationship between words, images and sequential storytelling.

Her work day begins early. “I’m a morning person,” she says. “I like to walk my dog and then get to work” her daily ritual reflects the observational nature of her practice, creating space between everyday life and the focused solitude of the studio. Vitally, her walks often provide the opportunity to discover new material. “Selecting something I want to draw is often the most difficult bit,” she explains, “but sometimes I find a disused building and then I’m on a roll. I feel it’s most important, where possible, to draw from life.”

Forgotten spaces become starting points for her work, offering glimpses into lives that have been left behind. Recently, however, she has been drawn to a new kind of interior. “I have been drawing in my friend Mark’s house,” she says. “He is an avid eclectic collector of objects.” This transition from deserted spaces to rooms “full and overflowing with beautiful objects” marks a departure from desolation towards a more intimate world, where objects and interiors reveal something personal about those who inhabited them.

Her process begins always with looking closely. Lindy creates several thumbnail sketches to find the right composition before moving on to a larger drawing and eventually the etching plate. The slow, tactile nature of dry-point etching is central to her practice. “I can spend a week or more scratching up a plate,” she says, making the first moment of inking the plate especially rewarding. “The reveal is always a thrill.”

The pace of printmaking requires patience, and Lindy’s studio practice is built around periods of concentration and reflection. Podcasts sometimes accompany her work, providing a background rhythm while she remains absorbed in the physical process of making. When creativity slows, she finds that stepping away can be just as valuable as pushing forward. She might go out into the countryside to draw, change her surroundings completely, or failing that, “I clean out a few cupboards!”

The excitement of printmaking lies in its combination of control and unpredictability. After spending days carefully building an image, the first proof print offers a moment of discovery. Yet completion is rarely immediate. “It is difficult to know if a piece is finished until after the first proof print,” she explains. Often, she returns to the plate and reworks certain areas before the image feels resolved.

When she steps away from the studio, Lindy turns to another kind of visual language. Her favourite way to unwind in the evening is with cinema. “I love to watch films,” she says, drawn to another from storytelling.

Back in the studio, her etching tools remain her most treasured companions. Some of her tools date back to her student days, carrying with them decades of making, experimenting and storytelling. Through her prints, Lindy continues to explore the spaces between what is seen and what is imagined, reminding us that every doorway, corridor and empty room holds the possibility of a story waiting to be discovered.

View Lindy Norton’s collection online & in the gallery.