Alfons Bytautas was born in Selkirk in 1955. He studied Painting at Edinburgh College of Art (1972-77), where he discovered etching. He went on the study in Paris at Atelier 17 under the Modernist printmaker Stanley William Hayter. Bytautas then worked as Master Printer and Senior Etching Technician at Edinburgh Printmakers for 30 years. He has been instrumental in developing new techniques such as acrylic resist etching and photopolymer techniques. Using unconscious drawing techniques, his work focuses on abstract forms and he is greatly influenced by collage and artists such as Eduardo Paolozzi. In 1994, he was elected as an Associate Member of the RSA, later becoming and Academician in 2006.