Printmaking, in all its forms, intrigues me for both its historical significance and also the expressive control I have—as an artist—while creating images.
Intaglio, where paper is pressed into a plate to transfer ink from etched indentations, is particularly an exercise in control: each print requires hand-inking and wiping the plate. Each impression is therefore unique.
Back Alley
The characteristics of the back alleys of the city have always intrigued me: the wiry fire escape clings to the rusting brackets attached to the less cared-for side of buildings.
Loosely based on a photograph I took, most likely in Chicago. But the newsprint is from a copy of the New York Times I found lying around the print shop in Minneapolis, so… it is multi-regional.
This is a look at the early plate, with the hardground before and after the first acid etching. Subsequent etchings will be used to create the printed texture.
In this single-color intaglio image, I captured the feeling of standing and looking up in a narrow alley, using chine collé newsprint to evoke the sense of rubbish blowing around.
Additional texture in the building is provided by a resin aquatint, applied in stages during the etching process.
Sailing Home
The added element of chine collé in this image—the red stripe on the ship’s hull—enhances the unique characteristics of each single-color image I create.
Using a carefully cut and placed piece of red tissue paper, which is bonded into the underlying sheet during the intaglio press pass, I can add colorful accents without needing an additional printing plate.
This print is based on an original sketch I created specifically to explore the possibilities of different aquatint tonalities for the sky, water, ship’s hull, and smokestacks. Each tone involves masking and acid etching of each section separately.
The Lonely Tree
Revisiting my frequent theme of isolation, this original sketch was created using brushwork with the “ground,” or acid masking material, to soften the appearance of the tree trunks and branches. A fine-line etch was used as the basis and the horizon.
The abstract sky, created with thin blue tissue paper and chine collé, breaks out of the plate’s boundaries. I wanted this watercolor-like effect, made entirely from torn paper, to further enhance the tree’s isolation.
I’m also using the more extreme aspect ratio that I’ve come to enjoy in my photography.
