Artist Printmaker Peg Morris was born in Essex in 1966. After leaving school she completed a Foundation Course at the North East Essex School of Art before going on to complete a BA(Hons) in Fine Art Painting at Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology in 1988. She worked in photography and then as a hologram designer before moving to London and training as a Primary School teacher in 1991. She worked in mainstream and special education in London over the following 25 years but always continued her art practice. In 1998 she started attending etching classes at Putney School of Art, having tried a little printmaking as part of her degree and it was at Putney that she really discovered a love of intaglio printmaking.
Process is fundamental to how Peg works. Although she specialises in etching, she explores different processes and makes mezzotints, lithographs, collagraphs, Tetrapak prints and monotypes. Her work is rooted in observation and drawing underpins all the images she makes. She also makes paintings, usually in watercolour.
Dilapidation, decay, natural forms, especially trees, and the changing light conditions which transform our perception of the landscape, cityscape or interior spaces provide inspiration for her work. Since her move to the Surrey Hills in 2021 after 30 years in London, the ancient trees and trackways of that landscape have proved a rich source of inspiration. She walks daily and revisits the same locations in different conditions, forming deep personal connections with her surroundings through observation and quiet contemplation.
Peg has exhibited widely, including the Royal Academy, the RWA, the Mall Galleries, the RBSA where she was awarded a prize for her etching, the Woolwich Print Fair and in many group exhibitions. Her work is held in the Printmakers Council Archive at the Scarborough Museum and Art Gallery and is in the V&A archive.
In 2025 Peg was elected an associate member of the SGFA. She has been a member of Southbank Printmakers since 2015, was a member of Richmond Printmakers from 2011-2021 and has served on the committee of the Printmakers’ Council since 2019. She co-founded KAOS (Kingston Artists Open Studios) in 2010.
Since 2016 when she left teaching, Peg has worked at Kew Studio as the Printmaking Studio Manager, Technician and Etching Tutor. She also runs occasional printmaking workshops at her home studio in Surrey and has recently started to work as a visiting tutor at Ochre Print Studio in Guildford.
Awards
Peg was awarded the GMC second prize at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Print Prize Exhibition
Peg has been nominated for Surrey Artist of the Year three times
Publications
Peg was featured in Pressing Matters magazine when her etching ‘A River Runs Through It’ won the Pressing Matters print challenge. https://www.pressingmattersmag.com/issue-26
Peg gave an online talk about her work for her solo show at One Paved Court in Richmond, SW London. To watch the recording of the talk, click here
Training
Foundation – North East Essex School of Art 1984-5
BA (Hons) Fine Art (Painting) – Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology 1988
PGCE University of Greenwich 1991-2
Post Graduate Diploma in Special Educational Needs, University of Kingston, 1999
Peg studied etching at Putney School of Art for many years.
Membership of professional groups
Peg was a founder member of KAOS (Kingston Artists’ Open Studios) which was established in 2010
Peg has been a member of the Southbank Printmakers since 2015
Peg was a member of Richmond Printmakers from 2011-2021
Peg is a member of the Printmakers Council and is on their Committee
Peg was nominated for the Surrey Artist of the Year in 2012, 2023 and 2024 http://www.newashgate.org.uk
Peg’s work is held in the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum and as part of the Printmakers Council Archive in Scarborough.
Since January 2017 Peg has been Print Studio Manager and Technician at Kew Art Studio‘s Print Room and now offers printmaking workshops and courses both at Kew Studio and at her home studio.
Peg Morris 