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Enjoy the Spirit of Nature with detailed original fine art oil paintings, engravings and giclées. Realistic, hidden, biomorphic, complex and visionary imagery.

That's a Jeweler's loop on my head.

The vise in my left hand and that the plate is on is a half-sphere called a engravers vise.

It slides in the base it is sitting in like a ball and socket joint, allowing maximum movement in the left hand in any direction.

Sometimes the technique is to move the plate into the tool instead of the tool into the plate, or both can move into each other, depending on the cut of the line, the tool used and how the tool is sharpened.

The smallest details are done with a microscope.

Then it is inked, wiped and laid on a piece of paper towel on the press, inked side up.

I take a sheet of dampened printing paper and holding it at the corners lay it over the plate in one smooth movement, not shifting or moving the paper so the ink does not smear. Then the felt blankets are laid on top of the paper and it is all run through a press, printing on paper that has been soaked with water overnight.

This engraving is being pulled from the inked plate laying on top of the paper towel. Slideshow of an engraving being printed.

• The printed paper is the engraving. It is the one on the top left in this picture being pulled from the plate, which is resting on a paper towel I use to absorb excess moisture from the print paper.
  
  
• Usually I work on the plate more after the first proof is printed, if some elements do not fit the vision.
  
  
• These copies are trial proofs, and each one is usually unique since the plate is engraved on between printing (commonly called impressions) until the plate is finished.
  
  
• After I am done working on the plate, four or five impressions called "Artist's Proofs" are printed to make sure to get the ink consistency and wiping process correct.
  
  
• After that numbers are written on the engravings, beginning with, for example 1/50.
  
  • The first number is the individual engraving number, in this case it is "1."
  • The second shows how many are in the edition, in this case there are "50."
    
    
• You can tell an original engraving by the ridge on the back and the impression on the front where the roller has pushed the paper into the plate, similar to embossing, but in the shape of the plate.
  

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