PRINTFEST has announced its Printmaker of the Year 2015.

Dedicated to the exhibition and sale of contemporary prints, the UK’s foremost artist led printmaking festival has this year bestowed the sought after title on Irish artist Jane Glynn.

To select this year’s Printmaker crown, Printfest - which began in 2001 - partnered with the Zillah Bell Galleries in Thirsk, a fine art gallery which represents a wide range of national and international artists and is often described as one of Yorkshire’s best kept secrets.

Jane was selected from a short list of artists put forward by the gallery and recently spent a week in Ulverston, working on a commission based on the area which will be unveiled at Printfest.

Jane is currently undertaking a masters degree in Fine Art Printmaking at Dublin's National College of Art and Design (NCAD). Her work has been exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, and was chosen for the inaugural exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts in North Yorkshire.

Liminal space - the place of transition - is the cornerstone of Jane’s work. An ongoing project of Jane's is on the interiors of buildings in transition - places that are floating between functions, drifting towards abandonment and decay, hovering between ownership old and new.

She also has a fascination with the remnants of past lives - both physical and psychological - that remain in the buildings long after their inhabitants have gone. Primarily through intaglio printmaking and photography, Jane engages with these atmospheric spaces and their sense of what she calls "fleeting temporality."

"I'm honoured and delighted to be Printmaker of the Year,” said Jane. “I have a research-based practice: my week in Ulverston has opened up new avenues for exploration in relation to my work.”

Printfest director Janice Benson said they were "bowled over" by Jane’s submission when she was nominated for the illustrious title. Janice added: “We wanted to see more of her work and were excited at the idea of her creating a print for us based on the Furness area. We’re sure that it will be a very strong addition to the collection of work that’s been building over the past five years.”

Printfest 2015 takes place at Ulverston's Coronation Hall, on May 2/3, with more than 40 printmakers in the line-up.

Last year's event saw 1,500 visitors head to Ulverston from around the UK.