I create most of my art using my own photographs as image sources. I choose not to use computer software or modern photographic printmaking processes because I enjoy seeing my own hand involved in the process. I am primarily interested in composition and tend to create figurative designs because of their unpredictable relationship to their surroundings.
I create aquatint etchings because I am continually challenged by the technical and creative aspects of this medium. I enjoy the unique velvet texture and the embossing found in an aquatint.
Aquatints are part of the intaglio family of printmaking. Traditionally intaglio prints create an image by incising or etching lines and microscopic dots into flat, thin metal plates. There are many ways to create an aquatint but I use the traditional method of coating the plate with finely ground rosin. The plate is then heated, melting the rosin and creating a fine mesh of tiny dots on the surface. I then paint the white areas of my image with an acid resistant stop out, expose the plate to acid for the next value and repeat the process for successively darker values. The darkest value has been exposed the longest time to the acid.
The plate is are inked, rubbed with tarlatan cloth until the marks in the plate are revealed. The plate is run through a high pressure press covered in damp paper, transferring the ink onto the paper creating a print. These steps are repeated to create a number of prints called an edition. [
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