The technique of wood engraving is one of the most precise and detailed graphic arts. It also has a long pedigree in the history of printing, having been used to illustrate early hand-printed books. Unlike the blocks used for woodcuts (which are essentially planed planks of wood), wood engraving blocks are cut orthogonally to the wood grain: in other words they are slices through a tree trunk! The wood used has to be a fairly slow-growing, densely textured species, such as boxwood or lemonwood. The wooden blocks tend to be small and quite costly. For larger work, some engravers use synthetic blocks made of plastic or resin.
The Dream of the Rood An original multicolour wood engraving printed from a single block of lemonwood, 100mm square. The block was printed four times, each time with a different colour and orientation. Limited edition of 25; £45. Actual size.
Variant colour scheme. (edition of 10; non acid-free paper, special price £25).
