An illustration for Dan Needles’ recent book FINDING LARKSPUR.

How give directions. An illustration for FINDING LARKSPUR by Dan Needles.

A look at my engraving process

At times I am asked to describe my process, so here are a few images and notes I hope will show you the steps that my wood engravings go through. In another journal entry I will show you the tools that I use to engrave the blocks.

1- The sketch - I make numerous sketches, the first few are rough while I look for gesture and composition. When I get the drawing to a state that feels ready I transfer the drawing to the block.

2 - This engraving was to be a two colour cover for the Wood Engravers Network calendar. This is final rough and how I decided the second colour would surround the key block

3 - Images transfered to block.

3 - 4 Drawing on the block. I am careful not to over do the drawing on the block. I just need the overall outline and enough details in the face, hands, and other charactors and objects in the image.

5 - Here you can see the area around the top of the figure where I have started to clear away the background. Clearing out like this is a kind of warm up

6 - The main image is cleared free and I have started on the face and hands of the Hurdy Gurdy player. I like to get on with the “hard parts” early in the process in case something doesn’t work out. Then I can start over without having lost to many hours or even days.

7 - More working on the main characters

8 - Here the block is completed and ready to be proofed. Proofing can take many trips back and forth from the engraving table and the press until it is finally completed.

9 - The final proof with some ruling set in to help with registration.

10 - The second colour block set in registar.

11 - The type set and arranged in place.

12 - Finally the printing is happening. These are proofs set out to dry. The printing is done in sequencel, black first, then the second colour is registered and the type is printed last.

13 - This is the final version. I changed to the yellow ink for the second colour and added a bit of blue to the key block to jazz up the colour reaction.

The Wood Engravers’ Network is an active promoter of wood engraving in North America. I am proud to be a member. Check out their website

www.woodengravers.org

New Book Release: Out of the Dark

New Book Release Teaser: Out of the Dark The exacting art of wood engraving is defined by presence and absence, shadow and light, black and white. An arduous yet rewarding art form, it requires an artistic eye and a dedication to technique in order to imbue each image with its own visual narrative.

Wood engraver Wesley W. Bates, the artist behind the acclaimed book The Point of the Graver, demonstrates the power and precision of the form in his new collection Out of the Dark.

Bates brings to bear decades of experience, deftly wielding his graver to coax vibrant and lifelike images from solid blocks of endgrain wood. In so doing, he frees each likeness not only from the blocks that hold them captive but also from the reaches of his prodigious imagination. With a wide variety of engravings in Bates’s unmistakable style, and accompanying texts to bring the reader into the artist’s studio, Out of the Dark is a treat for all who appreciate the traditional form.