This is the first of a series of articles I’d like to post regarding the different types of cutting tools used for wood engraving starting with the graver. In cross-section this is a lozenge or diamond shape. They come in various sizes but some are sharpened on different angles relative to the length of the […]
I found this Polaroid pinhole camera on the web this past summer after digging around looking for SX70 film. Looks like film for Polaroid is going the way of the Dodo bird, a shame since there seems to be a re-kindled interest among photographers in this medium. I was pretty excited to get this from […]
Here’s a wood engraving of mine I found amongst my stuff in the studio of a baby moose. This is a very small postage stamp sized print ( 1 3/4 x 1 3/8 inches). I did this one a long time ago but it still seems attractive to me. As you can see it is […]
Shortly after his move to Dawson, my dad and I were invited to exhibit some of our work together at the Dawson City Museum during the Yukon Riverside Arts Festival in August, 2008. Despite the rain quite a few curious folk turned up. Ilgvars kept everyone amused with his witty anecdotes. Dad displayed some of […]
Here’s a nice shot of a boxwood block on my leather pillow. An essential bit of equipment for the wood engraver. Shown is the block for the ‘Cottonwood’ engraving.
A couple of weeks ago I opened a show of around 18 photographic portraits at Bombay Peggy’s Brothel & Pub. They’re all large format and nicely framed in a plain maple molding. Been getting pretty good feedback from visitors and pub patrons, guess the more you drink the better everything looks. I drew from a […]
Bob Frisch knew the Yukon terrain like the back of his hand, he could lope over a mountain range at the drop of a hat in the way most of us trek over to the local convenience store for a bag of chips and a bottle of soda. One day he disappeared for weeks without […]
Amy Winehouse, the intense, nuclear talent who pierced through the flotsam and jetsam of the entertainment industry to soar high and then implode. Another in the long narrative of those who briefly outshine everyone else only to sputter and die out at an unreasonable age. I made this drawing and subsequent woodcut on a sheet […]
My father, Ilgvars Steins has complete mastery over pen and ink techniques as shown above in an image titled ‘Tree Hugger’ (12.5″ x 14″) He also has a pretty wild imagination. There’s so much to choose from but I picked this recent one (below) titled ‘Listening Trumpet’ (12.5″ x 14″). He often combines gouache, water […]
Here’s a short clip showing how I make a wood engraving. Notice how I push the end grain block into the graver by pivoting it on the engraver’s pillow. Sorry, there’s no sound.