Bulino engravings

[John B.]

Thank you Marty.

Hey John B.......what did you ever do with the real tassel?????

Now that would be telling, Marty.
Oh, OK. It's under my pillow...... but don't tell Sue's husband Omar ( AKA Paul) for Lords sake!

Thank you for doing the bulino seminar. Like Andrew, I will try to behave, ha ha.
Just a small mural of you a'la tassel. Nothing too obtrusive, you understand.

Silly time over, many thanks. We all have a treat to look forward to before we leave the Reno family gathering next year.
Rex, Mr. President, FEGA may need a bigger seminar room in 2008.

Best regards, John B.

PS> Thank you for starting this post, Glen. Great idea. Ask and you shall receive.
See you there. Save me a good seat, big guy.

 

[FANCYGUN]

Thanks for the kind words and the faith in me guys......Andrew. I better see that poster you made up in the newsletter as you promised or the deal is off.
Now I have to try and figure out how the heck to present this. Like I have told you over the years..I engrave the scenes the same way I would draw with a pencil...and then I fake it.

 

[pierre]

hi there is two photo of bulino engraving.
I take the pictures during a school travel in brescia itali
you can easily see the dot technique used.
it's a fantastic work but you can't use the gun because it's too fragile to use.
you will see another work where tey use dot technique only for the cloud all other the work have been done by lining technique (at beretta workshop)

 

[FANCYGUN]

Great looking birds..I would go totally nuts trying to be doing those. Interesting what you said about the guns being unusable because the engraving is too delicate.

 

[fegarex]

But Marty, you ARE nuts... That's why we love you.....

 

[FANCYGUN]

NO.......I am off center. HHHHmmm the last time I posted pictures of my two bulino tools all hell broke loose.

 

[AllanFink1960]

Incidently, I recently bought a couple castings of bulino work from the FEGA site, which helped me understand a bit better how the cuts are supposed to look up close. You can use a loupe or microscope and see the cuts really well. I havent actually tried to do bulino, but it sure helped explain something that is very hard to see in a digital photograph. I got the dvd class video too but even with that I was pretty baffled about what the engraving would look like in person. The castings helped a LOT and were about $15 each.

 

[FANCYGUN]

The castings that most of the guys make and sell out in Reno, besides the castings FEGA sells, are really fantastic study tools. It's amazing what details the molding rubber and plastic picks up. Trying to figure out what to illustrate for my now scheduled seminar I was looking at castings i have and plan on showing close-ups to try and illustrate the points I will try to make. It's amazing how haphazard and sloppy something can look up super close and when you back off the lines and shades all come together.

 

[Ron Smith]

bulino

This picture is a little faded, but I did it quick. It is done with only lines, no dots, therefore it is quite a bit more durable, but you cannot see detail too well. The lines are so small you can hardly see them even with magnification, or at least my magnification. I use loops.

If you could see it really close, it is kind of rough, but okay for my first longwinded attempt with the palm tool............Ron S

 

[FANCYGUN]

Great Eagle JC...What magnification are you using for this? But I see you progress the image the same way many or most engravers do. Finish one part at a time. I can't do it this way as I engrave like I draw. In other words the whole image takes shape sort of at the same time. I start with shadows and build them up from there as I go along. Fine details are usually the last thing I do. I usually do most of the images with an optivisor so I can see the whole thing easier as I build things up.

 

[Lee]

JC, outstanding sequence of photos. Now the scary part. I have to admit that I do things very similar to Marty just not nearly as good in many cases(my mother has a different opinion). Marty is a tremendous artist who knows where and at what intensity the values should be. That's why his scenes always hold together and give a strong visual. It's easy to get hung up on the details. They are always secondary to form.

 

[FANCYGUN]

Thanks Lee....you're a good student and a nice guy to boot. How did the old man and little kid scene turn out that you showed me in Denver?

 

[pierre]

JC i have been going to see your web sit it' s a realy beautifull and fine work, do you know Christophe Para, he work also in Paris on jaeger Lecoultre Watches. It's a past student of Liège school during the Years of 80.

 

[FANCYGUN]

Thanks for the extra insight JC. I do usually like lines better than dots also as they tend to be more durable as we all agree. Also with my temperament they seem to work better for me. However i also use poinalism in conjunction with the lines and have fun overlaying them together for some nice textures and effects. It's amazing how rough something looks under high magnification. I find the biggets problem people have is trying to make a image look like a photo. Wel it's not ever going to be a photo so just have fun with it and go with the flow. Let the hand of the artist show and create the illusions.
Still a pretty neat Eagle

 

[Tim Wells]

JC,
You get to work on the coolest watches! I also like the way you are under the radar for a time then you surface and knock everyones socks of with that fine work you do; kind of a sneak attack so to speak. Hummm, must be busy Engraving I guess.

Thanks for the photos, they do explain quite a bit. Tim

 

[sdcoxx]

JC
This more than helps, it blows my mind...
Thank you,
Stephen

 

[JJ Roberts]

Gentlemen,
Like Pierre I'm curious about the fragility aspect of the engaving our fellow engaving in Italy are doing...beautiful work, but are these guns meant to be used or just for display. I remember reading a post by Barry Lee Hands on a visit he made to Italy he talked about the Bulino technique and when an engraver completes a section he tapes it off before going onto the next section for fear of wiping it away. I myself prefer cutting lines with a push engraver. I like what Sam, Ron, and JC are doing. I believe the engraving needs a little depth to hold up. Keep up the good work.

Yours truly,
JJ Roberts
Manassas, VA

 

[JJ Roberts]

Here are two samples of Bulino practice plates done with a push graver.
Best Regards,
JJ Roberts

 

[Ron Smith]

J.C., Excellent series of photos, but even as those who don't understand it observe the pictures, they don't get the read between the lines value, like you said. The intensity, the endurance, the discipline, etc. Think of how little the general culture knows about these processes.

The dot method of engraving is very effective for subtle tones, but like Marty, Lee, and those of us who use these methods iterated, it somewhat destroys, or at least minimizes the potential longevity of the art. With the exception of the value of the visual aspect, durablility, time to accomplish it, and functionality all play a part in my book, for quality work that will survive time. Having said all of that, the dot method is not true bulino. Remember that buline or banknote was originally invented for printing purposes, not for gun decoration, which in my mind requires a different approach for the most important reasons. Therefore, I use whatever method to include durability, and just use dots for the very subtle shading requirements. It is a simple fact that you cannot create intensity solely using dots, as you only get varying shades of gray. Where lines are too harsh for subtle shading, they are required for good contrast and vibrant definition, and in all of the good work, an artist must have benifit of the darkest shadows, as well as the subtlties of dots. This is what makes the work vibrant as it meets the total spectrum of light and shadow requirements................................ and that is my two cents on the subject........Beautiful work J.C......excellent photos......priceless information................These photos are worth a thousand words................ and probably a thousand or more lines also, right? ..............Ron S

 

[FANCYGUN]

Ron,
I'd like to add one thing to everything that has been said by everyone. People seem to equate banknote or bulino with fine details. Like in drawing or painting.there are many kinds of detail. I like to think that "suggestive" details are just as important as the finite details people are so hung up on. It's amazing what the eye will fill in if given half a chance. You don't have to engrave every single little piece of grass in a scene.