"The artist is also a born adventurer. His explorations, unlike those of the tourist, are rewarded by the discovery of beauty spots unmentioned in the guide books, and with tireless curiosity and an exceptional proneness to wonderment, he will come upon objects of remarkable interest overlooked or even shunned by more disciplined observers."

Augustus John, R.A.

Monday, 24 August 2020

Experiments with Wood Engraving

 Earlier this year I made some engravings on Resingrave, a substitute matrix for wood engravings. I wasn't really satisfied with the surface and found it difficult to work, so I ordered a practice pack of assorted end grain blocks from Chris Daunt. Over the last few weeks I have been slowly working through the various blocks with some positive results. There is still much to learn and my mark making is still a little crude, the medium demands a much more delicate touch than cutting the lino that I am more used to. It does however fit well with my mezzotint work. Although producing totally different looking images both methods require the same mindset in working. Essentially with both methods you are drawing with light rather than trying to build up the darks in the image. Both an untouched endgrain block and a freshly prepared mezzotint plate print as black. Any work done on them creates the light areas in the image. 

So these are the results so far:

Stonechat
Wood Engraving on Maple Wood
42mm x 38mm
Printed on 220gsm Fabriano Rosapina
Hawthorn Printmakers Dense Black Ink




White Owl
Wood Engraving on Maple Wood
60mm x 27mm
Printed on 145gsm Zerkall Smooth
Hawthorn Printmakers Dense Black Ink

Lligwy Cromlech
Wood Engraving on Lemonwood
30mm x 69mm
Printed on 145gsm Zerkall Smooth
Hawthorn Printmakers Dense Black Ink

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