In Conversation with Tony & Indra Deigan
By Madeleine Mackenzie, Head of Decorative Arts & Art, Sydney
Q: How did you first come to know Arthur Boyd and how did this collaboration come about?
Tony:
I first met Arthur in Australia at his home in Bundanon after I had printed his etching for the Cancer Council of Australia. At our first meeting, I teased him a little, saying that I could print rainbows – lots of colour on the print. The following year when I came out to Australia, there were three plates to actually apply that colour logic to; that was the project called Prodigal Sun.
During this second visit, I introduced the idea of doing some collagraphs, which Arthur had not experienced. He was keen to do some together and we arranged to meet in England – where I lived and worked – when next we were both there.
Indra:
I first met Arthur and his wife Yvonne when we visited them in Suffolk. That was the start of Arthur and Tony’s collagraph collaboration. They started with a small test plate, which ended up as the Bather’s Head, followed by the first large plate, which was The Australian Scapegoat.
Q: How long did you spend working together on these prints and what was it like to work with the artist?
Tony:
We first worked together on the collagraphs in 1989. The plates were all done at Arthur’s home in Suffolk; the prints were subsequently editioned between England and Australia.
On each visit in England to his place, I caught the train to London, changed for Ipswich, and got off at Woodbridge in Suffolk, where I was met at the station by either Arthur or Yvonne and driven to his home. So, I was probably arriving there at half past ten in the morning and leaving around three o’clock to get myself back home on the train with plates in tow.
Arthur was delightful to work with. He was full of enthusiasm and on one occasion said that it was very nice having me right next to him when he was working. Because I would be mixing more glue and doing things on the plate, which were necessary as the glue dries rapidly, and the carborundum powder, which traps the ink, had to be put on carefully soon after the mark was made.
Indra:
Arthur was always kind, curious, and interested to know what you were up to. When I spoke to him about my interest in making artist’s books and showed him a few of my projects from college, we mutually agreed that we should do a book together – which ended up with our collaboration on the ‘Sangkuriang’ book in 1993. Arthur visited us often during this time at our home in Mittagong, where he created his plates for the book.
Q: A lot of these prints are collagraphs, can you tell us about the process of how these are made?
Tony:
Arthur loved new things, and collagraph was something that he latched onto immediately because the glue that was put down was tantamount to working with quite thick paint. And he quite liked moving the glue around as you would if you were doing an oil painting.
The collagraphs were made from selecting an image in some of Arthur’s exhibition catalogues. We looked at the images, selecting ones that I thought I could print because they’re full of colour.
Once selected, Arthur, without putting any mark on the plate first, would start with the glue. So, it was quite an immediate set of mark-making. It wasn’t copying precisely an image; it was interpreting it in the form of a print. He would paint the image or the subject with glue and the grit— the carborundum powder— which was put on the glue to retain the ink. All the brush marks that Arthur made can be seen on the print because his plate was always printed last. The dents on the surface of the print are the thicknesses of the glue that he used.
So, in effect, the process is that the image is created with glue. The glue goes hard, and then it’s available to print. Now, the second plate, which carries a lot of colour, was made by me. I actually traced the image that Arthur had concocted, and I had the reference of colour from the catalogues. So, I was able to determine where the colours went and how I could ink the thing up.
And of course, I would then do a print. This was at St Martin’s School of Art (London), where I was working. I would do a colour proof because I knew the type of marks that Arthur made. And when I was doing my plate, as it were, the complementary plate, I was using brush marks similar to the paintings, the reference that I had for the paintings. And also, I was very astute at watching how he applied the paint himself, or glue as it was for the mark-making. I would then show Arthur the proof on my next visit to determine if any changes were needed.
Indra:
The collagraph technique uses glue that was in A+B components, which created a viscous consistency and was not sticky once hardened.
The glue could be painted on using brushes onto a sheet of aluminium plate. Carborundum powder was then applied to certain parts of the image that required more ink – a play on highlights and shadows. The powder sticks to the still viscous glue and is embedded in it once dry.
The printing was done as an intaglio process, by applying ink with a muslin dolly and wiping it off with newsprint and tissue paper. The collagraphs with two to three plates were inked in tandem; I would ink Arthur’s plate and Tony would ink his, then they would go through the press one after another, starting with the third and second plates and finishing with Arthur’s plate, leaving his marks embossed on the paper.
An enormous amount of care was needed in the printing, both in applying the ink and not smudging it over the other parts because the colours must be kept clean and getting the registration accurate each time the paper went through the press two or three times. Some of the prints could have up to twenty colours, which required a lot of accuracy.
Q: Were there any challenges during the process?
Tony:
With this collagraph technique, there was quite a learning process at the beginning, especially for Arthur. He was in effect having to play with only three tones – the aluminium plate, which was light grey, the white glue, and the black carborundum powder.
The glue we used also has a drying time, so there wasn’t time to dilly-dally. Arthur would paint on the plate, and I would sprinkle on some powder and tap the bottom of the plate, so the powder jumped onto the marks that Arthur made.
We couldn’t do the whole drawing and then start applying powder. We had to do it in little bits. As the image evolved, Arthur sometimes would go in with the end of a brush, the wooden end, and scratch some marks in the glue.
Q: Do you have any favourite prints or series within the auction or ones that you have fond memories of creating together?
Tony:
I think it’s the Australian Scapegoat, the first large image he did as a collagraph. Arthur was putting pigment in with the glue that I was using, and in effect was turning the image that I was to print from into a painting.
This made it difficult to print because I never knew whether the surface that was supposed to have ink on it had been inked or not. But after a while, you just get familiar with the procedure and make sure that you ink up in a specific order.
The images done at the end, the two large images of Shoalhaven, were very colourful. I thought those were very exciting because the colours were so Australian.
Indra:
Working on the Sangkuriang book was special. Everything was new, exciting, and challenging for all of us. Arthur’s images for the book were completely original as he had to come up with something new for the story. As to my favourite print in the book, it would be The Volcano – it captured the dramatic end to the story, both how Arthur illustrated the scene and the richness of the colours.
Q: What do you hope viewers will appreciate when considering bidding on these prints?
Tony:
Well, I think the first thing to appreciate is the vibrancy of the colours. The brightness, the clarity, the freedom in the way Arthur made the marks. Because each one of them was fresh and exciting.
Indra:
Arthur was directly involved in the creation of all the work. He put the marks on his plates himself. The printing process was also quite intensive, considering the size of the plates and the intricacies of the colour application. We did well to get five to six prints done in one long day.
Q: The auction includes a number of the artist’s plates as well, what makes these so special?
Tony:
In making the artist’s plates, Arthur was thinking that he was doing a painting, which he was. He was painting with glue. The Australian Scapegoat plate, for instance, the first large plate we did where he added pigment to the glue, is very special as it is pretty much a painting by Arthur.
Arthur’s approach to drawing on the plates was very immediate; without sketching on the plate first, he would just be painting the glue on using his expressive brush strokes and mark-making.
Indra:
I think the plates are unique. With Arthur’s own marks and the imprint of the colours left on the plates, they are a work of art in themselves.
Top Image: Arthur Boyd signing his artworks
June 2025