We stage artist and printmaker, Andrew Davidson’s solo show here next month. Andrew has just completed seven covers for Bloomsbury’s next edition of the complete series of Harry Potter books, the first four of which have just been released. Andrew, who works almost exclusively to commission, will exhibit his prints and textiles, here, at Tinsmiths next month (7th September to 12th October) and we are delighted that this very rare solo exhibition will include the Potter series of wood-engravings.
Wood engraving by Andrew Davidson for Bloomsbury’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Bloomsbury really couldn’t have selected better for J.K. Rowling’s work. “I wanted them to look as if they had come straight from the pages of a book taken from the library at Hogwarts (the boarding school for wizard’s where the books are set)”, explains Andrew.
The project took around two and a half months to complete, and each of the images describes a key scene, character or setting from that novel: designs for first books in the series feature the Hogwarts Express train and Gothic castle, while later covers have a darker feel and feature ghouls, skulls and serpents. The complexity of Andrew’s work, hand engraved on English Boxwood measuring no more than 9″ x 7″ and printed on Japanese paper, really suits the genre. Andrew’s commission from Bloomsbury allows him to hand-print 20 of each of the illustrations from the wood-engravings for his own use and it is these that we will have on display.
Hogwart’s Express steams into view. Wood engraving by Andrew Davidson.