Bernard Rice was born in Innsbruck, Austria. He studied wood engraving, drawing and painting whilst at art school in Austria. Aged 19 he came to London to study at Westminster School of Art alongside the artists David Jones and Clifford Webb; and later at the Royal Academy Schools, London. He did not settle in England for long, moving to Yugoslavia in 1922, and spent much of his time travelling, and for ten years lived in Cairo teaching engraving and etching techniques. The artist frequently experimented with different woods, engraving on the cross section of soft wood blocks and often looked to the blocks themselves for inspiration. His best known works are the large and vigorous woodcuts based on the landscapes and villages of Bosnia.

Out of the Wood British Woodcuts and Wood Engravings 1890-1945, The British Council 1991

 

Glossary

  • Drawing

    The depiction of shapes and forms on a flat surface chiefly by means of lines although colour and shading may also be included. Materials most commonly used are pencil, ink, crayon, charcoal, chalk and pastel, although other materials, including paint, can be used in combination.

  • Engraving

    An intaglio process whereby lines are cut into a metal or wood plate using an engraving tool (a burin), which is pushed in front of the hand to achieve a sharp controlled incision capable of great delicacy. This technique requires a great deal of control and is not suited to spontaneous mark-making.

  • Etching

    An intaglio process whereby a metal plate (normally copper, zinc or steel) is covered with an acid-resistant layer of rosin mixed with wax. With a sharp point, the artist draws through this ground to reveal the plate beneath. The plate is then placed in an acid bath (a water and acid solution) and the acid bites into the metal plate where the drawn lines have exposed it. The waxy ground is cleaned off and the plate is covered in ink and then wiped clean, so that ink is retained only in the etched lines. The plate can then be printed through an etching press. The strength of the etched lines depends on the length of time the plate is left in the acid bath.

  • Painting

    Work of art made with paint on a surface. Often the surface, also called a support, is a tightly stretched piece of canvas, paper or a wooden panel. Painting involves a wide range of techniques and materials, along with the artist's intellectual concerns effecting the content of a work.