Tag Archives: etching

B.I.G. And Baked

After I filed and degreased my new copper etching plates, I cleaned and prepared a section of the inking up area of Swansea Print Workshop to apply Andrew Baldwin‘s B.I.G. hard ground to the surface of my plates. It’s built up in thin layers until there’s a fine, even amount of ground on the plate.Continue reading “B.I.G. And Baked”

File And Degrease

Take a sheet of warm, shiny copper. File the edges, first with a coarse file, then two successively finer ones to make a gently bevelled edge. Smooth the corners so they are slightly rounded. Flip the sheet over and gently remove the burr around the back edge with the finest file. Then take the copperContinue reading “File And Degrease”

Heavy Metal

I spent a happy afternoon at Swansea Print Workshop, starting to prepare for a new series of printmaking for my artist residency at The FIRE Lab. I’m planning a mixed bag of techniques based on my drawings en plein air of Victorian culverts. I rummaged around in the drawers of my plans chest to findContinue reading “Heavy Metal”

Precision

Working with Andrew Baldwin at Trefeglwys Print Studio last weekend, I got in some practice doing a double drop print from my aquatint plate. It’s a very specific and precise process. After carefully printing in Vermilion and taping the print to the press bed before peeling it back, we put a heavy weight onto theContinue reading “Precision”

The First Colour

After inking up my little zinc aquatint plate with a Vermilion oil-based etching ink, I worked with etching expert, Andrew Baldwin, to print the first colour of a two-colour double-drop print. Working with utmost care, I taped the long edge nearest the roller before peeling the damp paper back from the plate. It’s imperative thatContinue reading “The First Colour”

Vermilion!

I started making this aquatint plate back last September the first time I spend a weekend at Trefeglwys Print Studio, but it was the third plate I made that weekend and I didn’t finish it. So during my recent, second, visit to Trefeglwys, I prioritised finishing and proofing it. Here it is being inked upContinue reading “Vermilion!”

The Difference

  Preparing an etching plate or a wood block or a silk screen is just the first stage of creativity in making an original print. The second creative input comes with the actual printing – the inks, papers and special effects you use. I printed the one above using the ‘double drop’ technique, printing theContinue reading “The Difference”

Metal Marbling

  I’ve done marbling onto paper before but this is marbling onto an etching plate. I spent the weekend at a masterclass in etching at Andrew Baldwin’s Trefeglwys Print Studio in Powys. We covered quite a few processes and I’ve wanted to see this one for a while. Andrew marbles a metal plate with hisContinue reading “Metal Marbling”

A Happy Accident

  Exhibition: “Female Expressions”, Saturday 2nd – Saturday 23rd February. Queen Street Gallery, Neath. This is an etching of mine called “Ripples” made from an original life drawing, working with a professional model. It’s part of a series of etchings of the nude which I called “Rinascere” which relates to the word Renaissance because I basedContinue reading “A Happy Accident”