Land and seascapes; antiquities and historic buildings; composite topographical townscapes; and monumental figures and book illustrations from four contemporary South West wood engravers: Harry Brockway, Hilary Paynter, Pam Pebworth and Howard Phipps.

Wood engraving is a simple relief printing process using close-grained woods such as cherry but principally box. Chosen to display quite different aspects of the medium’s capabilities, their work continues a 200-year tradition developed in its modern form by Thomas Bewick. His small jewel-like vignettes of genre scenes are not only fine works of art but accurate records of social history.

The four artists continue that tradition in their accuracy of observation, not without humour, and in a totally modern sensibility. In addition to the prints, examples of ‘applied’ work will be shown such as book illustrations, cards and commercial commissions.

The exhibition will be complemented by a gallery talk and a demonstration of engravers at work. The artist's work will be available for sale.

Harry Brockway was born in Newport, South Wales in 1958. He Studied Sculpture at Kingston upon Thames Art School and The Royal Academy Schools, London (1981 - 1984) and was trained as a stonemason and worked at Wells Cathedral. He has been a self- employed stonecarver and illustrator since 1989. He has been a member of The Society of Wood Engravers since 1984 and an associate member of The Royal Society of Painter Printmakers and Engravers since 2007. He lives in Somerset, England.

Hilary Paynter is the one of the UK’s leading wood engravers and past president of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers.

"I always have more ideas than I can use and these range widely to include socio-political comment and landscape. I normally work directly onto end-grain wood with rudimentary drawings from ideas that I have been refining mentally and this allows development of the engraving on the block.

There is always an urgency in my work because of my commitments to the SWE and RE and I have developed rapid engraving techniques. Generally, I have several blocks in progress at any time and move between them. I enjoy the occasional constraints of working to a commission. I listen to Radio 4 or stories on tape while I work." - Hilary Paynter

Pam Pebworth is a local artist and has always taken an interest in illustration, particularly 18th century books, illustrated by wood engravers. The engraving process is an exacting art form requiring much concentration and patience. Her main inspirational source is the Westcountry and architecture, sometimes using a composite style to include many aspects of a place. Pam is a member of the Society of Wood Engravers and The Devon Guild of Craftsmen, her work has been regularly included in the annual exhibition of the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol.

Howard Phipps studied Fine Art at the Gloucestershire College of Art in Cheltenham. He is a painter/printmaker with a special interest in wood engraving. A member of the Royal West of England Academy since 1979, and the Society of Wood Engravers since 1985, he has also been a frequent exhibitor at Royal Academy summer exhibitions where he received the Contemporary Print Award for colour engraving. In 2003 & 2004 he received the landscape print prize at the National Print Exhibition in London.

Royal Albert Memorial Museum
Queen St, Exeter
Devon EX4 3RX United Kingdom
Ph. +44 (0)13 92265858
www.rammuseum.org.uk

Opening hours
Tuesday to Sunday
From 10am to 5pm