Copper Beech 1963

Charles Arthur Wells Jr. made this etching of a Copper Beech, and right away I'm wondering about the process. Look at how he's built up the form, almost like drawing with lots of tiny, busy, marks. The etching creates a velvety texture, a tactile quality that invites you to imagine running your hand across the bark. The way the light filters through the leaves is incredible; the dark lines create these shimmering patterns, like sunlight dancing on the surface. There's one spot, right at the base of the trunk, where the lines are really dense and dark, almost like a little pool of shadow. It anchors the whole composition, gives it weight. It reminds me a little bit of Dürer's engravings – that same attention to detail, the same love of line. But there's something uniquely modern about Wells' approach, a kind of looseness and energy that makes the tree feel alive, like it's breathing right there on the page.