s3e46 engraving deep dive with Latvian artist, Reinis Gailitis

Platemark: prints and the printmaking ecosystem

In s3e46, Platemark host Ann Shafer speaks with Reinis Gailitis, an engraver from Riga, Latvia. The magic of the internet is fully on display today. Without it, finding Reinis's work would have been challenging. But his self-portrait in the style of Claude Mellan's Holy Face, the one with a single line emanating from the subject's nose, is a marvel.

Ann and Reinis talk about how engraving is simultaneously the most simple and direct of techniques while being the most difficult. They talk about tricks and tools shared by artists thanks to the internet: how to transfer a drawing onto a shiny copper plate for engraving (thanks, Andrew Raftery), what recipe to use for a darkened paste to fill already carved lines to see progress (thanks, Lembit Lõhmus), choosing a non-toxic solvent and trying out a custom tube of ink (thanks, Ad Stijnman), about non-toxic electrolytic etching (thanks, Jason Scuilla). They talk about the pitfalls of selling Intagram-worthy art, why there's little-to-no printmaking culture in Latvia, and about how overdue we are for a severe magnetic storm that could wipe out electronic media, documents, art pointing to the importance of printed objects.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvia, born 1992). Illustration for Alphabet of Latvian Culture, 2019. Digital drawing.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvia, born 1992). Illustration for Alphabet of Latvian Culture, 2019. Digital drawing.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvia, born 1992). Illustration for Alphabet of Latvian Culture, 2019. Digital drawing.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvia, born 1992). Illustration for Alphabet of Latvian Culture, 2019. Digital drawing.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvia, born 1992). Illustration for Alphabet of Latvian Culture, 2019. Digital drawing.

Reinis Gailitis teaching engraving at the Art Academy, Riga, Latvia.

Reinis Gailitis’s plate with ink-paste in the engraved lines to help the artist see where they are.

Reinis Gailitis engraving the copper plate Face Of...

Reinis Gailitis (Latvian, born 1992). Engraved spiral perfection.

Halftone rake tool (intaglioprintmaker.com).

Unknown engraver after Jacob Matham (Dutch, 1571–1631) after Abraham Bloemaert (Dutch, 1564–1651). Landscape with the Parable of the Tares, 1605. Engraving. Sheet: 38 x 50.5 cm. British Museum, London.

[DETAIL] Unknown engraver after Jacob Matham (Dutch, 1571–1631) after Abraham Bloemaert (Dutch, 1564–1651). Landscape with the Parable of the Tares, 1605. Engraving. Sheet: 38 x 50.5 cm. British Museum, London.

Stanley William Hayter (English, 1901–1988). Cinq Personnages, 1946. Engraving and softground etching (trial proof prior to color additions). Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvian, born 1992). Monoliths, 2022. Engraving.

Reinis Gailitis. Variations of lines via engraving, drypoint, and mezzotint.

Lembit Lõhmus (Estonian, born 1947). Ex Libris. Engraving.

Reinis Gailitis’s ink-paste.

Claude Mellan (French, 1598–1688). The Sudarium of Saint Veronica, 1649. Engraving. Plate : 16 7/8 x 12 3/8 in. (42.86 x 31.43 cm.); sheet: 17 7/8 x 13 3/8 in. (45.4 x 33.97 cm.). Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis.

Reinis Gallitis (Latvian, born 1992). Face of…, 2021. Engraving. Sheet: 30 x 22 cm.; plate: 25 x 18 cm.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvian, born 1992). Schematic for Face Of… engraving.

Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528). Self-Portrait, 1500. Oil on panel. 67.1 × 48.9 cm. (26 1/3 × 19 1/3 in.). Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Alte Pinakothek München.

Reinis Gallitis (Latvian, born 1992). Vortex, 2021. Engraving. Sheet: 44 x 34 cm.; plate: 40 x 29 cm.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvian, born 1992). Starship, 2021. Engraving and chine collé.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvian, born 1992). Work in Progress, 2023. Engraving.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvian, born 1992). Work in Dark, 2023. Engraving and linoleum cut on chine collé.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvian, born 1992). Work in Dark, 2023. Linoleum cut.

[DETAIL OF TRIAL PROOF] Reinis Gailitis (Latvian, born 1992). Work in Dark, 2023. Engraving.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvian, born 1992). Work in Dark, 2023. Engraving printed intaglio and relief with white areas hand wiped.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvian, born 1992). Inked engraving plate (black intaglio, blue relief, white hand wiped) for Work in Dark, 2023.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvian, born 1992). Fungi, 2023. Wood engraving. 9 x 11 cm.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvian, born 1992). Woodblock for Fungi, 2023. 9 x 11 cm.

Reinis Gailitis’s engraved woodblock for Fungi set in press.

Reinis Gailitis’s wood engraving, Fungi, being printed.

Anton Würth (German, born 1957). Dürer Übung-Dürer Practice, 2014. Engraving. 100 x 150 mm (3 7/8 x 5 7/8 in.). C.G. Boerner, New York.

Lembit Lõhmus (Estonian, born 1947). Ex Libris in memoriam Richard Kaljo. Engraving.

Reinis Gailitis (Latvian, born 1992). Engraved patterns.

USEFUL LINKS

Reinis’s website: https://gailitis.berta.me/

Reinis’s prints are available for purchase on his Esty shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GailitisPrintmaking?ref=profile_header

Support Reinis through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/gailitis

Short videos of engraving Work in Progress: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NEjIeYYKyzk and https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DkEPD2qdB5U and https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3f_FihXoMxM

Short videos of engraving Face Of…: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLYBCYGAh40 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPcFjpoWO4I and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwf_SzOJAk

Process video on the making of Vortex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OU9Uh8brzQ

Process video on the making of Starship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjgw_aUnwuk

Andrew Raftery demonstrates the art of engraving: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQvghHs15hA&t=234s