Monday, February 4, 2013

Drypoint on acetate





I have been experimenting with drypoint again. This time have used clear acetate .003 inch (.08 mm) in thickness.
A sketch I made of a winter finch was used. I also had some photo reference to use for determining the colours.
I was able to place a sketch underneath and use this as a guide to scribe the lines into the plastic surface.
I constructed a tool to use by drilling a hole into a 6" (15 cm) length of wood dowel into which I pushed in a darning needle. I sharpened the end of the needle by rotating it on a piece of aluminum oxide grit sandpaper.

The plate had Akua carbon black intaglio ink spread across the surface using the edge of an old Itunes card. I then wiped back the surface with a piece of bundled tartalan cloth. I then applied the end of a cotton swab stick to remove ink from areas for more white to show through. I wanted to leave a little plate tone for effect.



acetate plate with inked scribed line and plate tone




resulting print made on Maidstone white rag

A piece of Maidstone all purpose rag paper was misted and placed over top of the plate. I set my felts over top and a piece of newsprint and adjusted the pressure of the roller on my small etching press.
After printing I allowed time for drying (in this case about a week).




Watercolour was also added to another version pulled from the same plate but this time the scribed lines were inked using Paynes Gray.

7 comments:

  1. As usual, Brian, your work is wonderful. I like both...

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  2. I have just started using drypoint. I'm really impressed with your bird.

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  3. Your print is so beautiful, thank you for sharing your knowledge and experimentation :)

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  4. hi there, when you etched into the acetate, what tool did you use please? btw your work is outstanding. what felts are you using to get that depth in colour?

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  5. I used a diamond tip drypoint tool. I inked the acetate plate with Akua payne's gray intaglio ink. The plate was printed monochromatic. I then added in colour using liquid acrylic inks and brush.

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    1. as for felts just the standard pusher, thicker centre and catcher felts. The gauge pressure was fairly tight. I presoaked the paper surface with a bit a dampness from spray bottle and quickly blotted just before printing through the press. Gave me a good intense image.

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