A New Engraving Technique by Means of Explosives

Abstract

I am an artist interested in portraiture, and, like others, I have wondered how can one really depict a human being. In making a portrait, one must capture more than what one can observe of a subject in a relatively short time. The 'inner' and 'outer' life of a person combine to continually change a person's appearance. An ordinary photograph can provide only a momentary glimpse of a complex personality. With patience and toil in the spirit of devotion, a portraitist, whose hand responds to eye and brain, can do better. Momentary expressions of joy or unhappiness must be taken into account. I have been told that it would be easier to paint flowers, which do not present one with fleeting moods, but I seek ways to portray beauty in humans and in the human spirit. I shall describe below my art technique that I call explosive engraving. I have found it a sensitive and effective way to meet my objectives as a portraitist. It is appropriate to mention initially some earlier experiences that are pertinent to the technique I devised. I can go all the way back to the age of six when I used to travel on the limestone shuttle train from the quarry near our farm in Kullsberg, Rattvik, Dalarna, Sweden. It was then that I saw occasionally imprints of leaves on the broken rock. Of course I did not realize until much later the significance of what I saw.