Wood Engraving
Wood engraving forms the most intimate expression of Keith’s practice, a space where observation, memory and material meet through the disciplined language of the cut line. Working on end-grain boxwood using traditional engraving tools, Keith creates prints which translate his sculptural understanding of wood and landscape into a condensed, graphic form.
His engravings emerge from long familiarity with the Sussex landscape: chalk paths worn by generations, hedgerows shaped by seasonal labour, coastal horizons and wooded margins where human history and nature intersect. These works seek to reveal the spirit of place, distilled responses of moments in place and time which sit somewhere between observation, folklore and recollection.
The precision required by wood engraving reflects soft echoes of Keith’s early training as a signwriter, where accuracy, rhythm and clarity of line were essential skills. Each incision is deliberate and irreversible, requiring patience and attentiveness to both image and material.
The resulting prints carry a quiet intensity. Fine networks of cut lines hold light and shadow, allowing atmosphere and movement to emerge from restraint. Figures, animals and structures often appear within ambiguous spaces, suggesting stories without resolving them, inviting viewers to enter and complete the narrative themselves.
While Keith’s larger sculptures occupy physical space and evolve through weather and time, his engravings operate on a more intimate scale. They offer a moment of stillness, a concentrated encounter with landscape and memory. Yet they remain connected to the same concerns which run throughout his wider practice: material honesty, the passage of time and the enduring relationship between human presence and the natural world.
Stockists of woodcut engravings by Keith Pettit
Much Ado Books, Alfriston
Henry Paddon Gallery, Eastbourne
Kemptown Bookshop, Brighton