Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case EW, Shelf 149, Box C

Bonnie

Print
2002 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In wood engraving, a design is drawn onto the surface of a block of polished hard wood such as box. Fine tools are used to remove those parts of the design that are to print white leaving behind a tracery of lines and shapes in relief. These are inked with a sticky ink, stiff enough to prevent it from falling into the hollows and an impression is taken using hand pressure or a press.

Wood engraving is the perfect medium with which to render the fur of this Yorkshire terrier, Bonnie. Where the wood was removed from the block it prints white which contrasts with the black surrounding, printed from the uncut block. Paynter's work shows impeccable technique and an exceptional creative range. It features dramatic landscapes, coastlines and buildings rich in heritage as well as gentler pastoral scenes. It includes more personal observations within her home and of her children, private and intimate commissions for bookplates and Christmas cards, and illustrations for private press. Perhaps her greatest contribution to the medium is represented by her social and political commentaries and works that address psychological issues related to daily life. Paynter became Secretary and later Chair of the reformed Society of Wood Engravers in the 1980s and has been instrumental in the resurgence of wood engraving as a medium. In 2006, she became President of the Society of Painter-Printmakers in recognition of her outstanding contribution to printmaking.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleBonnie (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
paper
Brief description
Wood engraving, Bonnie, Hilary Paynter, 2002
Physical description
Wood engraving, inscribed with edition number, title and signature in pencil.
Dimensions
  • Image height: 5cm
  • Image width: 5cm
Copy number
7/50
Marks and inscriptions
'7/50, Bonnie, Hilary Paynter'
Summary
In wood engraving, a design is drawn onto the surface of a block of polished hard wood such as box. Fine tools are used to remove those parts of the design that are to print white leaving behind a tracery of lines and shapes in relief. These are inked with a sticky ink, stiff enough to prevent it from falling into the hollows and an impression is taken using hand pressure or a press.

Wood engraving is the perfect medium with which to render the fur of this Yorkshire terrier, Bonnie. Where the wood was removed from the block it prints white which contrasts with the black surrounding, printed from the uncut block. Paynter's work shows impeccable technique and an exceptional creative range. It features dramatic landscapes, coastlines and buildings rich in heritage as well as gentler pastoral scenes. It includes more personal observations within her home and of her children, private and intimate commissions for bookplates and Christmas cards, and illustrations for private press. Perhaps her greatest contribution to the medium is represented by her social and political commentaries and works that address psychological issues related to daily life. Paynter became Secretary and later Chair of the reformed Society of Wood Engravers in the 1980s and has been instrumental in the resurgence of wood engraving as a medium. In 2006, she became President of the Society of Painter-Printmakers in recognition of her outstanding contribution to printmaking.
Bibliographic reference
Paynter, Hilary, Full Circle: Hilary Paynter, Wood Engravings, Woodend Publishing, 2010, pg 137, cat 9.
Collection
Accession number
E.1006-2019

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Record createdNovember 12, 2019
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