SHONA BRANIGAN ARTIST PRINTMAKER

I am an artist printmaker, creating Tree prints, wood engravings, woodcuts and Drypoint.

I have an open studio in Grizedale Forest where you can watch me at work, buy original prints, and have-a-go yourself.

Printing Sycamore Gap: The Heartwood Exhibition

"I felt privileged to be commissioned by the National Trust to print Sycamore Gap, and I also felt a responsibility to do my best so that I could honour not only the tree itself but all the people who loved the tree too. As a north easterner I have known Sycamore Gap all my life and visited regularly, the tree was such a haven in the wild landscape. Now that the series of prints are complete, I am pleased and proud of my work. It's a testament to the tree, to the life of that tree and the lives of other trees to see, to work with it, to see its life, to appreciate it."
The Heartwood exhibition ran from 15th July 2024 until the 2nd March 2025 when the Baltic exhibition closed.

The making of the Sycamore Gap Print

Exclusively in the National Trust online Shop

I have the Sycamore Gap tree round in my studio and I am creating original hand burnished prints from the centre of the tree. As each one is handmade they are all unique and show the embossing of the paper as I have pressed it into the shapes of the tree rings.
I have also created 2 digital giclee prints, one is a life size reproduction of the whole tree round and the other is a scaled version at A2. These are created from a photo of the Gold print I created for the Heartwood Exhibition. They are printed onto Hanhemuhle Photo rag fine art digital paper with pigment inks.
Each product is available in 3 colours inspired by the Heartwood Exhibition prints: Gold / Venetian Red / Ultramarine Blue
All the prints are available to purchase exclusively at the National Trust online shop see button links below. I am supplying the Trust with new prints each week so any out of stock messages are only temporary.

The original small and medium prints, postcards and greetings cards are also now available at the following NT shops: Housesteads, Seahouses, Lindisfarne, Cragside, and cards at Wallington and Sizergh.

Sycamore Gap prints

  • Original Sycamore Gap print-small

    The print is an original hand burnished print created by pressing the paper by hand onto the surface of the wood.
    This print is approximately A4 size and shows the first few years of it's growth as its printed from the full tree round.
    It fits comfortably into the Rodalm Ikea 30x40cm frames.
    It's available in 3 colours: Gold/ Venetian Red/Ultramarine blue.
    £32.00

  • Original Sycamore Gap print- medium

    The print is an original hand burnished print created by pressing the paper by hand onto the surface of the wood.
    This print is approximately A3 size and shows the first years of it's growth.
    It fits comfortably into the Rodalm Ikea 40x50cm frames.
    It's available in 3 colours: Gold/ Venetian Red/Ultramarine blue.
    £48.00

  • Digital Giclee Print of Sycamore Gap-large

    I have photographed one of my originals to create a digital image. This has been printed onto Hanhenmuhle Photo rag fine art paper with pigment ink, to create the giclee print. 
    This A2 size print is available in 3 colours: Gold/Venetian Red/ Utramarine blue. It shows the whole of the Sycamore Gap tree print, scaled down from life size. 
    £110.00

  • Digital Giclee print of Sycamore Gap-life size

    I have photographed one of my originals to create a digital image. This has been printed onto Hanhenmuhle Photo rag fine art paper with pigment ink, to create the giclee print. This life size print is available in 3 colours: Gold/Venetian Red/ Ultramarine blue.
    It shows the whole of the Sycamore Gap tree print, which is an impressive 127cm x 95cm. 
    £360.00
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Tree prints

All original hand burnished relief prints, some I then paint with watercolours.

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New Giclee Prints

Printed onto Hahnemühle Photo Rag® which is one of the world’s most popular papers and the valued all-rounder for high-quality FineArt inkjet printing. Playing with colour and adding different backgrounds and the trees sing a new song.

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  • Review

    "Really love this print that was bought as a Xmas present for my husband which I also get to enjoy. It also feels special because I have seen Shona at work and I am aware of her skill and passion. I hope the story of this Yew will continue for hundreds of years to come." Michelle P

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Forestry England podcast

Bex heads to Grizedale Forest in Cumbria to meet Hazel Stone and Shona Branigan about art in the nation's forests. Hear how Grizedale became the country's first forest for sculpture, what inspires artists to work in forests, and listen to the digitally manipulated sound of tree rings.

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Drypoint prints

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Woodcut Prints

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Blog posts

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  • The Sycamore Gap Tree prints: Heartwood Exhibition

    The Sycamore Gap Tree prints: Heartwood Exhibition

    When I heard on the news that the tree had been felled, I felt so shocked and saddened. I didn't think about printing the tree until much later. I was...

    7 comments

    The Sycamore Gap Tree prints: Heartwood Exhibition

    When I heard on the news that the tree had been felled, I felt so shocked and saddened. I didn't think about printing the tree until much later. I was...

    7 comments
  • The Village Oak project

    The Village Oak project

    I was visiting a fellow tree enthusiast near Rockcliffe village just outside Carlisle, in 2023 when I found a mesmerising trunk of oak from a tree. Michael agreed to cut...

    The Village Oak project

    I was visiting a fellow tree enthusiast near Rockcliffe village just outside Carlisle, in 2023 when I found a mesmerising trunk of oak from a tree. Michael agreed to cut...

  • One Ash project

    One Ash project

    One Ash tree printed

    1 comment

    One Ash project

    One Ash tree printed

    1 comment
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