Rob Ryan was born in Cyprus, but studied and is now based in the UK. His incredible skill with a scalpel (yes, he cuts everything out by hand) has made him the go-to figure for paper cutting.

Ryan says that he likes the work of William Blake, and those very English twentieth century artists like Eric Ravilious, Edward Bawden and Eric Fraser. I think that this “Englishness” comes through in his work – it has a quirky, individual style to it that harks back to carvings from the medieval period and the intricate swirling patterns produced during the Arts and Crafts movement.

Ryan’s incredible skill never fails to amaze me. He says that his advent in to paper cutting was a natural progression from the screen printing which he had studied at University. This delicate and time-consuming art is very much Ryan’s happy place and that clearly comes through in his work.

What I really love about his pieces is how quirky they are – the fact that he hand-cuts everything must surely mean that every single piece he cuts is unique. I think that the fact that his work is so popular stems from the fact that many people are looking back to the past, to a time when life was a bit slower and we did not rely quite so heavily on technology to do everything for us.

Rob Ryan is someone I look to regularly for inspiration. The delicate detail, the unusual subject matter and the sheer skill are so impressive. They might look simple, but speaking as someone who has tried to recreate them, they are truly not! I am always entertained and inspired by what he produces.