Rosanna Reade

21 June 2025

A story of following curiosity, finding momentum, and storytelling through art

In a studio tucked behind Regent Road in Edinburgh, Rosanna Reade carves bold lines into lino blocks, surrounded by light, music, and the rhythm of printmaking.

She’s built a practice rooted in curiosity and the joy of storytelling, all shaped by a thoughtful creative life and a love for the natural world. Here’s Rosanna’s story.

It sounds cliché but I had always wanted to be an artist when I was little. But for various reasons, I ended up studying History of Art at the University of Edinburgh rather than art. I then ended up working in London for a cultural travel company, but still harboured a dream about being an artist, but it felt like a very daunting journey. I had always been drawing and painting on the side of my work, but I struggled a bit with subject matter and also feeling that I hadn’t found a style or a niche.

Then, during the lockdown I turned 30 and my artist Aunt gave me a lino cut kit for beginners. And I was completely hooked. Within a year I opened an Etsy store and was selling prints I had made online. At first just to friends, but I still remember the first time a ‘stranger’ bought a print. There was just something about lino and the process that felt so natural to me but also removed some of the pressure of painting.

Four years ago I moved back to Edinburgh from London and decided to take things more seriously. I got a shared space in an art studio, and would spend my late nights after my day jobs working on my prints.

Then in January 2024 I decided to go full time, which was a risk, but I felt that it was the right time and that I needed to really focus on making it work. That March I had a print and some Instagram reels go viral, and it’s been a bit mad since then!

Spending time outside is essential to me

It’s just me, and as of a month ago, my Labrador x Lurcher puppy Minnow! She has adapted to studio very well and spends most of her time sleeping or trying to chew things she shouldn’t.

I work in a shared studio in Abbeyhill in Edinburgh, which I share with 2 painters and a textile artist. I got my own press in December 2024, and so the space is really set up for me now and I absolutely love the huge windows and high ceilings.

It is just me running the business, which is challenging. As well as coming up with new prints, working on my craft and printing them, I also made my own website, fulfil orders, wholesale, and all the more administrative tasks of running a small business.

I try to spend at least one full day a week just drawing and being creative but it isn’t always possible! In the future I’d love to get some help with the admin and packing.

One of the best parts of being an artist for me is the ability to work anywhere, and my ideas come to me in the oddest situations, but mostly when I am relaxed or procrastinating. I actually have a lot of ideas in the car, I think the focused environment can really help! Especially if I’m on a beautiful drive in Scotland somewhere. Spending time outside is essential to me, I love hiking, swimming, running, and just watching trees and birds.

I have a beautiful (but messy!) studio space in a room with huge windows and high ceilings. Printmaking requires a lot of equipment but I’ve managed to fit nearly everything I need into the space.

From the window I can see Regent Road in Edinburgh, with its beautiful Georgian buildings and trees. The studio is also a 5 minute walk from Arthur’s Seat, and I take Minnow there regularly for a walk.

Sometimes if I have lots of emails to reply to, I’ll treat myself to a coffee at Fortitude coffee which is next door to the studio or maybe a loaf of amazing sourdough from Twelve Triangles.

I am a big history podcast fan, but mostly I listen to music. This can vary quite a lot… this week I’ve been listening to The Black Keys, Amyl and the Sniffers, Bob Dylan, Miley Cyrus, Erland Cooper, Lorde and Cautious Clay…. so, it’s eclectic! I love music and find it really helps me to get into a focused mode by cutting out background noise. I like to match the music to the task, so for carving or drawing I might have classical or something more gentle, then for printing I like to have something upbeat to keep me going through the repetitive movements.

Exercise is one of the ways I keep calm, especially with a really busy schedule and a mind that won’t switch off. I try to move everyday, whether that’s a run around Arthur’s Seat, yoga or bouldering. Having a puppy has definitely made it a bit harder to find time where I’m not busy, but one of the reasons I wanted a dog was to try and enforce a little more routine into my life.

I have always loved illustration as an art form. Kay Nielsen, Edward Gorey, Aubrey Beardsley, the golden age illustrators, I really admire their work. But I also have a real love for folk art and more functional design, and printmakers such as Edward Bawden and Eric Ravillous are big sources of inspiration.

Colour is also one of the first things I think about. Which might seem strange as some of my work is in black and white! But I love that graphic style. And then when I introduce colour, it is normally quite bold and flat, and I like to keep a limited palette.

I am not actually that much of a perfectionist, which might seem strange for a printmaker, but I really have to push myself to be tidy! The way this shows up in my work is that I think I have a slight looseness and my mark making is not over considered. I like my prints to look handmade and like a linocut, and I think that effect is enhanced by making some instinctual marks. That said, I do spend a significant amount of time planning my prints, so they are loose within a very controlled framework!

I think what people love about my work is that it is often relatable, and it also has a narrative. I’m not interested in making images that just look pretty, I want there to be a story of some sort coming through in it. Whether that’s as a humorous little black and white print or a larger reduction print room scene, for me the story of the work overrides process or technique.

for me the story of the work overrides process or technique

The most crazy moment was definitely in 2024 when one of my prints ‘Ten Past Ten’ went viral on Instagram (12k likes) and I basically sold out of the edition as soon as it went on sale. Having made the leap to go full time that January it was such a positive sign that things were going the right way.

That said, it can be really tough to have had that moment and then to keep trying to recreate it, unsuccessfully. So you have to accept that sometimes something just touches people or the moment in the right way and that you won’t always be able to do that. And that we are also at the mercy of an app’s algorithm!

Recently I’ve been trying to remove the sense of validation that you get from things like that, and instead focus on making art I am proud of.

Prints frequently don’t work, so you have to have quite a tough skin for when they don’t look the way you want. 2021 was a really tough year personally, so anyone who followed me, liked anything or bought a print was really keeping me going!

I am fortunate to have grown up in a family who never put you off doing anything, who are mostly self-employed, work extremely hard, and I would say, very optimistic. I am grateful to have parents who have never told me that trying to become an artist age 30 was a bad idea. So I’d also say positivity. I’m not entirely sure what it is that drives me to keep going, but I get a deep sense of satisfaction from my work, and from being self-employed and in a creative role.

It might sound shallow, but I think that beauty is one of my key values, in the sense that the things I love, I often love for how interesting they are to look at. Whether that’s a mountain view, a winding city street, a painting, or a moment of sunlight, I think as an artist, I have a deep appreciation for how things look. It’s hard to remove yourself from the idea that you are trying to make something beautiful.

Additionally, I think my values for my work are to be inclusive, in that I teach workshops as I think that everyone is creative and I like to share my knowledge and encourage creativity in others. Perhaps because I came to it late too, I hate when people try to be superior, so I try to make sure I always treat everyone with the same respect for their work. Curiosity is also a key value for me, I think when we stop paying attention or being curious about things that’s when things become stale. I have to remind myself of that sometimes, and find something new to try or learn about.

My long term dream is to make a linocut graphic novel (or more than one!). It’s something that would combine my love of story with the art I make. I do actually have a story written, I just need to find a chunk of time to sit down and start planning the panels.

But for prints, I just want to keep focusing on making the best prints I can and expanding my practice.

As for a plan… I don’t necessarily have one! I have vague ideas about where I would like to go, but I am also led by my art and my interests, and in a more pragmatic sense, by what works financially.

In the long run, I’d like to be living in the countryside, with a garden and lots of animals, but I’m not sure when that might be!

IMAGES ©Rosanna Reade 2025

Thank you Rosanna for sharing your story, I loved hearing how your path unfolded. I can so clearly imagine you one day in your countryside garden, carving the tales of the animals you share it with. Please let me know if that happens, I would buy that book!

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