Keith Pettit

The Goddess of Victory, Nike, my bonfire sculpture for this years East Hoathly's Carnival.
This stunning photo of the bonfire is by Jim Holden.
She burns tomorrow, the culmination of our evening at around 10pm. Roads shut to the village at 5pm, so get here then if you'd like to watch it burn.

Water Wheel' a sculptural commission I've been working on over the last couple of weeks. In a garden criss crossed by streams and contains a working water mill with the da Vinci quote "water is the driving force of all nature" hand lettered into the flowing water that runs over the wheel.

Thank you Phil, you're very kind, I am sorry I am not more conveniently placed in the world!

'Home on a golden tide' - wood engraving.
Thank you so much for all the interest shown in my new print. Now available on my web shop (link in my bio), or your welcome to pop into my workshop and say hello to pick up yours.
www.keithapettit.com/online-store...

A crazily long and stressful day yesterday - but we've now made good progress on the bonfire sculpture. One more weekend to complete it.

Today the bonfire sculpture finally starts to take shape.

'Home on a golden tide' - wood engraving. From Pencil sketch, through the conti crayon development, the engraved block and finished print.
Available now via my web shop: share.google/RhlZoMZfmqhN...
If you hurry there's a nearly 40% discount.

I think my latest engraving is done! Not sure when I'm going to have time to take a test print, but I'll share it as soon as I can.
I'd love to hear both your thoughts on it, and on an idea for a title!

A little sneak preview of one of the componants of this years bonfire sculpture - the bust of Nike, finished last night. We'll be lifting it into place Saturday morning.

Fancy joining me next to the warmth of my workshop stove?
My wood engraving workshops (for both beginners and intermediateries) begin in mid November - sign up via my web shop and I'll save you a place!

Teaching and Classes share.google/kilSlR9y004c...

The latest progress on cirrent wood engraving, a summer washed field of ripening oats - it starts to feel a longtime ago now!

Me too!

Some good progress on my latest wood engraving

A path cuts across a nearly ripe field of oats. It curls around an oak tree in the middle distance, toward a patchwork of fields on a hill. The bright summers day is threatened by building clouds. The same scene is first seen as a pencil sketch, a crayon and ink sketch and lastly the same design is drawn directly onto a block of wood.

Finally ready to begin my new engraving - here's prepetary pencil sketch, an ink and conti crayon development and the block drawn and ready to start.
With thanks to @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social for the inspiration.

Coming soon: Lost occult books of the 1920s: relaunching Vine Press Publishing never-before-seen books by legendary British occultist Victor Neuburg and officially relaunching his 1920s Vine Press.

If you'd like to get involved with the project to re-launch Victor's Vine Press - click the link for more news and ways to get involved: www.kickstarter.com/projects/old...

Printing Victor.
After a day of taking proof prints and tweaking the engraving, we have finally arrived at the finished print - the first sketches that attempted to capture his likeness begun in mid July and this finished print was taken at the end of September - quite an epic!

Once the block was drawn up the engraving began.
The concept was to place him surrounded by icons that represents him; his cottage in Steyning, nearby Chanctonbury Ring, Dyonisi and Pan his twin stars in his pursuit of the occult. The block was engraved over a period of just over two weeks.

Once I had finished the composition of the piece I sized and traced the sketch onto the wood block.
Dionysis is seen with an unravelling a scroll with one of Vickbirds most beloved poems on it 'Downwood'. I've based the lettering the the font Victor used in all of the Vine Press books.

Free stickers suitable for flag-bearing lampposts. Send a large A4 envelope with a 1st class large stamp to me at Bragg Office, PO Box 6830 Bridport DT6 9BH and I’ll send you a sheet. #ReclaimtheFlag 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇬🇧

Alongside the work on the composition of Victor, all the details that will sit around him needed study too, Dionysis on further research is more often clean shaven, fluetests fingers are tricky and a sketch of Vine Cottage in Steyning where he and his wife Kathleen Goddard set up Vine Press.

Placing Victor.
Once I captured his image, I started to focus on the composition of of the finished engraving.

In pursuit of Victor.
My first challenge in creating a portrait of Victor Nueberg, was I only had 6 (rather sketchy) photos (and most he was pulling a face,thanks Vicky) to capture his likeness. Starting in mid July, I obsessively drew him for a month before I got something I had confidence in!

My Conti Crayon portrait of Victor Nueberg (1883-1940), poet, publisher and occultist. Friend of Peter Warlock, a sometime associate and lover of Aleister Crowley and first time publisher of Dylan Thomas.
I've been in almost constant company of him since July creating a wood engraved portrait of him

It's the last weekend of Atwave Festival .
I really hope you can make it along to 'This land of ours'. Hamsey Church is such an striking environment to experience my sculpture and bids will still be accepted in our silent auctions until mid day on Sunday too.
We'll both be there 11 til 5.

A huge thank you to all our many visitors that braved the weather and road closures over our second Artwave Festival weekend at Hamsey Church.
I was there again this morning, and was treated to a beautiful light show in the Chancel.
Come and see it youself this weekend 11 to 5 Sat and Sun.

1066 Country Walk Sculptures - I received such a nice email yesterday Syre Byrd had recently walked the 1066 Country footpath and had really enjoyed my sculptures along the route and had wrote a brilliantly insightful piece about them:
syrebyrd.substack.com/p/the-10-scu...

'The way through the woods' - wood engraving.
Is proving very popular, my best selling print over the first weekend of @artwavefestival. Which one would you choose?
We're open again this weekend 11 to 5pm.
www.keithapettit.com/online-store...

The sublime majesty of the sun in the chancel of Hamsey Church this morning.
A massive thank you to everyone who visited Paul Evans and I on our first weekend of Artwave Festival. You can visit us for the next two weekends. 11 til 5.
I really hope you can make it along to this special place.

Another beautiful day for our second day of Artwavefestival which means the chancel of Hamsey church will be witness to beautiful light, ever changing, washing my selection of torsos . Paul Evansartist and I are open to visitors from 11 this morning.
I do hope you can make it along.

What beautiful weather to greet the first day of Artwave Festival . Hamsey Church is looking gorgeous in the morning light. I hope you can make it along for a visit.
GOOD LUCK to all our fellow Artwave Festival exhibitors, may your walls empty and your tills fill!
We're Open now and here until 5pm