Andy English (born 1956) is an English

wood-engraver Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and prints using relatively lo ...

and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

who pioneered the use of the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

to teach a wider audience about

wood-engraving Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and prints using relatively lo ...

and how to do it.

Biography

Andy English was born in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, a small village in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1956. He studied

Geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

and taught in

Cambridge, England Cambridge ( ) is a city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of ...

from 1979–2006 where he was widely respected. Self-taught as an artist, he drew and painted since childhood but, in 1991, he started to engrave on

endgrain Wood grain is the longitudinal arrangement of wood fibers or the pattern resulting from such an arrangement. It has various derived terms refer to different aspects of the fibers or patterns. Wood grain is important in woodworking and it impacts ...

wood. This immediately became his main artistic output. A 2008 article by Paul Wheatley describes how, after trying various printmaking methods, English engraved for the first time and found it to be so natural and comfortable that he could only describe it as remembering a process rather than learning it. Andy was elected to the

Society of Wood Engravers The Society of Wood Engravers (SWE) is a UK-based artists’ exhibiting society formed in 1920, one of its founder-members being Eric Gill. Membership is restricted to artists who use wood engraving, as distinct from the separate discipline of ...

in 1997. He is also an elected member of the

Cambridge Drawing Society Cambridge ( ) is a city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of t ...

. While studying for a master of Arts at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in the early 1980s, Andy researched the use of online information systems. He was an early user of the Internet in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and, always the educator, developed a

website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...

that explained how wood engravings are created, introducing many people to this method of

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...

for the first time. The presentation of the material has gradually been refined over many years and his new website has many photographs of the process to aid students of

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

. Andy is a notable engraver. His detailed images often contain visual puns and hidden elements. Typical subjects include gardens, wildlife and childhood. He has illustrated many books, including two for

Barbarian Press Barbarian Press is a fine press publisher, owned and operated by Jan Elsted and Crispin Elsted in Mission, B.C., Canada. In 1977, the Elsteds were working toward their PhD's in English literature at the University of London when they met Graham ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. "Hoi Barbaroi", the 25th anniversary biography of the press describes Andy as "an enthusiastic, congenial & Intelligent Illustrator". Andy English is also an important designer and engraver of

bookplates An , also known as a bookplate (or book-plate, as it was commonly styled until the early 20th century), is a printed or decorative label pasted into a book, often on the front endpaper, to indicate ownership. Simple typographical bookplates are ...

. Paul Weaver describes him as working unhurried and in detail through a lens before printing the bookplates in a Victorian handpress.

References

* "Andy English" written by

Brian North Lee Brian North Lee FSA, (27 December 1936 in Syston, Leicestershire – 24 February 2007 in London) was a former teacher, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians ...

in Contemporary International Ex-Libris Artists 3. Portugal 2004. * "Ex Libris by Andy English" written by Jean-Francoise Chassaing in L'Ex Libris Francais No. 236. France 2005. * "Hoi Barbaroi" Barbarian Press 2004 p127 * "Book Marks" written by Paul Wheatley in Centurion Magazine Autumn 2008 pp58-9

External links

Web site of Andy EnglishBlog of Andy English
{{DEFAULTSORT:English, Andy 1956 births Living people English engravers Alumni of the University of Reading Alumni of the University of London People from Denver, Norfolk