May, woodcut of the Long Man of Wilmington 1925

Eric Ravilious made this woodcut, titled ‘May, woodcut of the Long Man of Wilmington’ using wood and ink. Imagine Ravilious, his tools in hand, carefully carving away at the woodblock. You know, each cut a decisive move, digging into the surface to reveal the image. The graphic contrast of black and white gives it such a strong visual punch, right? I wonder what he was thinking about when he made this. The Long Man, so pale, almost ghostlike, strides across the landscape, while that strange bull looms above. It's like a dream, or a myth, or something in between. Look how the patterns are made up of tiny lines and dots that give the whole thing such a lively texture. Ravilious was so good at this stuff, he's talking to us even from beyond the grave. We can imagine being in conversation with him and all artists, drawing, painting and printing since time began.