Wood Engraving
Wood Engraving is not to be confused with Wood Block printing or Wood Cuts.
Wood Engraving is a European tradition that was developed at the end of the 18th Century and was used as the main form of illustration in books and newspapers the 19th Century. It preceded the use of Photography.
Wood Engraving is done on the end grain of the wood, which is often the wood of fruit trees, as it is slow growing and very hard. Very fine steel chisels are used to engrave the wood and this allows very fine, delicate lines to be used in the work.
Wood cuts and wood block printing use the long grain of the wood and the grain is often evident in the print. Japanese artists have used this technique for centuries, whereas Wood Engraving was not a traditional form of Printmaking in 18th and 19th century Japan.
Where ever you see a white line on a wood engraving, indicates where the artist's chisel has removed the wood to create the image. This gives Wood Engraving a distinctive black and white character.
Editions
Editioning in printmaking means multiple copies are printed from the same plate up to a determined number. Some artists may print up to 1000 prints, although this is not usual.
Each print in the Edition is numbered and when the number of Prints reaches the Edition number, then no more prints are made.
Each image is printed in an Edition with the number determined by me. Most prints are Editions of 10, 20 or 25 depending on how difficult the image is to print.
The number of the Edition will appear on the bottom left hand side of the print, handwritten and will indicate the number of the Edition.
For example:
1/10 means it is the first print of an Edition of 10
2/10 is the second print of the Edition of 10 and so on.
After all prints of the Edition are sold, then no more Prints are made of that image.
A/P refers to Artist's Proof, these are the prints made by the Artist, before the Edition is made, to test the plate and make any adjustments to the image deemed necessary.
All prints are hand printed by me using traditional methods on an antique book press.
Currently no facilities are available on the blog to buy on line, but will be put in place in the near future.
