The Point of the Graver

by Wesley W. Bates

A carefully squared block of highly polished endgrain boxwood or maple and a few sharpened gravers are insignificant in themselves. But in the hands of Hamilton artist Wesley Bates these seemingly inflexible demanding materials can create form, fluidity, mood, an infinite world of light and shadow, monochrome and colour. The English wood engraver Clare Leighton once wrote, `Of all media, wood-engraving is the one in which there is the least to be taught and the most to be learnt.' The engraver's challenge to engrave light onto the block and to respect the mystery of solid blacks and whites is not easily met; but Wesley learned his craft carefully and methodically. He shows his admiration for English wood engraving in his skilful use of these simple gravers and his ability to suggest character and expression in his subjects. Wesley's engravings maintain their moods and tell their tales with style, sensitivity, humour and skill. The subject matter in The Point of the Graver ranges from traditional folk ballads ( The Brisk Young Butcher ) to modern allegories ( A Contemporary Fable ), from simple commissions ( Ex Libris ) to elaborate three-panel illustrations ( To the Avon River above Stratford, Canada ). In all of these Bates display a technical virtuosity that allows him to `live on the point of the graver' where there is the constant danger of passing the point of no return.

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 1994

Reviews

[Steven Buechler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those people who champion the end of the book need to take a serious look at artists who work in the craft of printing and engraving. The detail they put into their work and the consideration it takes to appreciate their talent excites the mind like nothing else does. And Wesley W. Bates proves that in his book The Point of the Graver.

Introduction by William Rueter

A carefully squared block of highly polished endgrain boxwood or maple and a few sharpened gravers are insignificant in themselves. But in the hands of an artist like Wesley Bates these seemingly inflexible, demanding materials can create form, fluidity, mood, depth: an infinite world of light and shadow, monochrome and colour.
Wesley Bates was born in Whitehorse, Yukon, in 1952. He studied fine art at Mount Allison University, New Brunswick, majoring in painting and printmaking, and he intended to pursue a career as a painter. In 1980 his wife Katherine, gave Wesley a full set of graver and he became fascinated with their potential. Wesley remembers that as a child he had looked at Fritz Eichenberg's engravings for Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre and had admired their sense of the fantastic and the grotesque. When he began engraving he felt the wheel had turned full circle.

Bates has spent most of his life honing this craft. His lines mesh into darkness and with just a hint of light to give a complex image that are a pleasure to examine and look at.

Link to my complete review on my blog