Characters of the Cut
Lino artist Ant Savage
WHEN Antony James Savage’s (Ant Savage) best friend, Dale Rudge, died in November 2020 his whole world flipped. “I quit my job as a painter and decorator that same day and told my wife, Hannah, that I’d take the rest of the year off and go back to work in January.”
However, during his time spent at home grieving, Ant started to make lino prints as a distraction. “I posted photos online and people asked if they were for sale!” Soon after, he decided to dedicate 2021 to making and selling art. “My friend’s death made me realise just how short life can be and I decided it was time to take a gamble on myself and try and do something I actually enjoyed for a change.”
Self-taught, Ant never studied art beyond GCSE level at school but as a young boy it was clear he had a talent. “I was that kid who was good at art. I remember being in middle school and taking challenges from other kids to draw things like horses or cars and being able to somehow do it at the drop of a hat.”
As an adult, when he found himself in bored moments, Ant would create detailed illustrations using a black pen on white paper. When he saw lino prints on Instagram he decided it was a medium that could work well. “It suited the kind of illustrations I enjoyed making and I also liked the idea that I could make multiple copies of my work, which is very beneficial if you’re attempting to make sales.”
Being able to combine his art business with life afloat has also meant moving from a permanent mooring to the open cuttings of the canal. “We were based full-time in a marina on the River Ouse for four and half years, spending only our summers cruising and then two and a half years ago we moved from the river on to the canal network, the North Oxford.”
Now, however, with Ant’s business steadily growing, you can expect to see him, wife Hannah – also an artist – and their new puppy, Mabel, permanently cruising the entire system as roving traders. “That’s the best thing about living and working on a boat – the freedom to be able to move around and trade.”
Their 50ft cruiser stern narrowboat, The Corridor, has been Ant and Hannah’s home for seven years. “We were fed up with renting from rogue landlords but struggled to get ourselves on to the property ladder. We knew we had to come up with a new idea and eventually decided on a narrowboat.” Their plan was to pay it off over a few years then sell it on and pocket the money for a house deposit. Boat life, however, captured their hearts.
Prior to that Ant struggled with the repetition of dragging himself to work just to pay the bills, constantly nagged by the thought that there was something else he should be doing. “When we moved on to our boat I began to feel a freedom that I’d never experienced before.
“I loved the fact we could live within our own means and appreciated the boating community along with access to beautiful natural surroundings.”
And it is this that inspires many of his lino prints, a good example being ‘Mayday’. This print shows a narrowboat listing in a heavy storm with the pilot holding on to his hat. “It was literally inspired by one of those extremely windy days on board in May!” Ant always likes to try and add a sense of movement to the images he creates so they often appear abstract or slightly surreal. “The canal network works brilliantly as inspiration for my lino prints as everything twists and curves and has its own inherent flow; nothing seems straight.”
Throughout 2021 Ant has managed to build a modest following, sending prints to countries all over the world. “Between my Etsy page and selling directly from travelling on the boat, I have sold over 500 framed prints.” To finish the year he produced a calendar of 12 of his most popular boaty prints. “One hundred calendars sold out over a weekend, much to my amazement!”
With art being Ant’s one natural ability for as long as he can remember, in the back of his mind he knew he would one day attempt to make a living from it, he just needed the push to do so. “I would have never taken this step if it hadn’t been for Dale’s untimely death and the realisation of how short life can be.”