Here’s a wood engraving about the illusion of control within an emergent system. Also a pile of devil babies.

This image was mostly worked out by drawing directly on the block rather than attempting to transfer it from paper. This is probably the best way to go but it makes seeing the final image reversed a little more jarring than usual.

RSPK (Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis) is a parapsychological term for “poltergeist” activity, describing the involuntary, repeated movement of objects or noises attributed to the unconscious mental influence of a living person. It is usually tied to rebellious teenagers or disgruntled employees. So, yes, it’s complete nonsense.

My final engraving of 2025 had me once again thinking about A.I. and where our idea emerge from. I have given up and attempting to transfer a drawing to my engraving block and decided to go old school and just draw on the block. It worked out pretty well, but I do prefer when I tone the block with black ink rather than red Sharpie.

Process Video and Images

I made a point to document most of the steps in the creation of this print. Here is the result.

Click the thumbnails to zoom in.

My latest engraving is claustrophobic crowd scene with a crush of menacing characters carrying their “burden.”

My art output this year has admittedly been lacking, but I finally managed to edition this new wood engraving. It’s a ball of stuff—a collection if you will. What are we but the images, words and sounds we collect?

The image was engraved into an end-grain maple block from which it was printed by hand using Gamblin Portland Intense Black ink.

Printing the Wood Engraving

Process Images

Click the thumbnail images to zoom in.

In an effort to broaden my appeal, I have created this wood engraving featuring both nudity and vomiting. The kids are gonna love it!

This image was printed from a block of end-grain maple on to a 10¼ x 8½ sheet of Kitakata paper. The paper has an ever-so-slight reddish buff color which makes it very hard to accurately scan.

Process Photos

Printing the First Proof

I have finally gone back to wood engraving into a properly manufactured wood block. This print was engraved into a traditional end-grain maple block. Maple certainly doesn’t hold as much detail as resingrave but it is much easier to print and is more accommodating to various drawing transfer methods.

I don’t have much to say about the imagery here, just that I have been in the mood to draw monsters these days.

Process Photos

Printing a Proof

This engraving started out as two engravings on a pair of maple wood scraps. I worked on these with the intention of combining them into a single image by pasting them to s single sheet of heavy-duty somerset printmaking paper. This allowed me to have the ease of printing the light rice paper, while having a sturdy end product. Also, because they came from the same tree branch, the shapes provided a nice visual symmetry,

For centuries, magicians thought that the mummified hand of a hanged man (preferably a murderer) could lead one to buried treasure, unlock doors, or render victims unconscious. Commonly known as the “Hand of Glory,” the hand would be combined with a candle made from the fat of the dead murderer to enhance its powers.

Legend has it that when the Hand of Glory was lit with its special candles, it would emit a powerful light that only the person carrying it could see. Everyone else in the vicinity would be rendered motionless and unable to intervene, allowing the thief to go about their illicit activities without hindrance.

In this print, a trio of ne’er-do-wells has procured a hand thinking it would lead them to riches. Alas, when you play with the demonic arts, only evil spirits will be found!

Process Photos

The Video Trailer

This print was a sort of follow-up to the cosmic weirdness of Man, Ergo. This is was engraved into a block of Resingrave over the course of a month in 2023.

Process Photos

This engraving started out as a portrait of my cat (see the prep drawing) but it just became a more generic feline. After creating a quick one-off science fiction print, I thought I might continue that theme with a bunch of aliens worshipping a giant cat. Somehow that morphed into me wanting to draw a bunch of ugly brutalist buildings.

Process Photos

Click the thumbnails for a closer view.

About a year ago the gas company was working on our block and they knocked a branch off a maple tree in front of our house. I kept the branch and let it dry out for almost a year. I then cut this small slice as an experiment to see if it would make a good engraving block. It indeed worked out as a good material for wood engraving but it doesn’t hold small details. I would need a bigger block if I ever want to switch to maple blocks (which I may have to do since resingrave has been discontinued). This print is the end result of this experiment.

Process Photos

I wanted to do an engraving of a space ship and this is what I ended up creating. It’s a rather small piece and is probably the last time I will ever be able to engrave into a Resingrave black since they are no longer being manufactured.

Art Process

These are images of the print in-progress from blank block to inking for the first proof.