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Saturday 19 May 2012

Andrew Davidson - Wonderful Wood Engravings


In an earlier post we mentioned meeting designer, illustrator and wood engraver Andrew Davidson at a Lewis and Wood event. We are totally in awe of Andrews' work and the skill it takes to painstaking cut his designs into blocks of wood. So we thought we would share more about Andrew's talent and some images of his work for Lewis and Wood.

Andrew Davidson in his tree top studio
Andrew Davidson
A graduate of the Royal College of Art, Andrew has spent 30 years honing his skill as an illustrator and wood engraver.
He works from a tree top studio in rural Gloucestershire where he hand-engraves his designs into English Boxwood, a slow-growing tree which allows an extraordinary level of detail. 
He then uses an 1859 Albion hand press to print the wood block designs onto paper.



Working with Lewis and Wood, the small print designs are enlarged and worked into a pattern repeat which transforms the wood engraving into a large-scale fabric pattern.

The pattern is transferred onto cotton and linen fabrics using old fashioned flat bed silk-screen machines, which gives the final textiles a sharpness of image and a rare authenticity and charm.

Below we showcase three of the Lewis and Wood fabrics depicting the charm of English country life for which Andrew is renowned - 'Deer park'‘Royal Oak’ and ‘Lamorna Cove’.



Deer park
This charming design creates a stunning fabric in three rustic colourways
 - rouge, black, and forest green -

Deer Park - Rouge
Deer Park - Black


Deer Park - Forest Green

Deer Park - Black, designed by Andrew Davidson for Lewis and Wood

Curtains in Deer Park - Rouge, designed by Andrew Davidson for Lewis and Wood

Royal Oak

Featuring the landmark spire of St Mary's Church in Tetbury and named after the fugitive King Charles II taking refuge in an oak tree, this pastoral print is perhaps the most ambitious fabric in the collection. Printed on Scottish linen union, with washes of colour to give two seasonal variations in a classic English landscape - Spring and Summer. 

Royal oak - Spring
Curtains in Royal oak - Spring, designed by Andrew Davidson for Lewis and Wood   
In Royal oak - Summer, designed by Andrew Davidson for Lewis and Wood      
Cushions in Royal oak - Spring, designed by Andrew Davidson for Lewis and Wood   


Lamorna Cove


This stunning underwater toile shows a diver's eye view of seals, fish and hermit crabs set in swirling frames of bubbles and seaweed. Printed on a crunchy cotton sailcloth, Lamorna comes in five chalky seaside colours and is suitable for both curtains and upholstery. 

Sou'wester Yellow, Shrimp Pink, Mussel Grey, Lundy Green, Seal Brown


 Lundy Green - Shrimp Pink - Mussel Grey - Seal Brown - Sou'wester Yellow

Lamorna Cover in  Sou'wester Yellow, designed by Andrew Davidson for Lewis and Wood

  Lamorna Cover in Seal Brown, Lundy Green and Mussel Grey

Limited Edition Prints


Andrew is soon to produce some of his beautiful illustrations on special Japanese paper as very limited edition prints.


We were privileged to see a framed example at the Lewis and Wood event. They were such a delight we pre-ordered two designs. 




More about Andrew's work can be found at his website - http://www.andrewdavidsonillustration.com/



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