About the Art Making Processes

Printmaking

Printmaking encompasses different processes for creating multiples of original works of art.  I will explain some of the processes that I often use.  This includes relief, intaglio, aquatint, photogravure, silk screen, and monoprint.

Note: Clicking on the underlined words in this write-up will take you to examples of my work.

For all of my prints I begin with a drawing.  I then transfer my drawing onto the printmaking surface.  This surface can be a linoleum block, a copper plate, or a piece of Plexiglas, to name a few.  The surface material and how the image is created on that surface depends on the type of print being produced. The next sections will go into a bit of detail about each process.

Once the image is on the printmaking plate, I then apply ink to the surface, and run the plate through a printing press by hand with a piece of paper on top of the plate or printing surface.  The inked image is then transferred to the paper.  And then you have a print. This process is repeated to make an edition.

Relief

A relief print is created when ink is transferred to paper from a raised surface.  The ink sits atop the surface.  For my relief prints, I carve images onto linoleum blocks.   Brayers, which are like rollers, are used to ink the surface of the linoleum block.  By applying ink in this way, the ink does not go into the hollowed spaces of the block carving.  The linoleum block is then run, by hand, through a flatbed printing press with paper on top.  The pressure from the press transfers the ink and image to the piece of paper.

For prints made using a destruction linoleum block, all layers and colors of the print are created from one single linoleum block.  It is known as a destruction block because each time one layer or color is printed for the edition, the block is then carved more to produce the next layer or color. This also means that once an edition is complete and all layers and colors are printed, this print can never be recreated.  The last image to be printed is called the key image. This image is the last layer of the print.  You can see a key image for my Monarch Collage No.2 by clicking here.

Intaglio

Intaglio prints are created when ink is transferred to paper from an incise or groove in the surface of the printmaking plate. I prefer to work with copper plates for intaglio etchings. 

With this process, the copper must first be prepared.  Prep is a lengthy process, which includes cutting the copper to proper dimensions, filing the edges of the copper plate, degreasing the plate multiple times, and then coating the copper with a protective layer such as a wax ground. 

Once this is completed, I transfer my drawing onto the plate, and use an etching needle or scribe to add my image to the plate.  The needle is very fine, and you can create highly detailed line work with it.  The needle also removes the wax to expose the copper. 

Once this is completed, the plate is put into a ferric chloride bath.  The chemical bites away at the copper to create the incised lines in the plate.  The time that the plate is left in the solution varies depending on how the artist would like the line work to look.  The longer the plate is left in the solution, the darker the lines will appear in the print because the acid has more time to eat away at the copper.  Thus, resulting in deeper lines which can hold more ink. 

Once this process is done, the plate is cleaned, inked, and wiped.  The ink sits in the grooves.  The plate is put on the press with the paper on top, and it is run through.  The ink then transfers to the paper, and that is how an intaglio etching is produced.  The inking, wiping, and printing process is repeated until the edition is complete.

Aquatint

This process goes along with etching. Instead of creating line work, like what is achieved with intaglio and an etching needle, aquatint creates tonal variations on the plate.  This is achieved by applying a dusting of rosin to the plate.  This dusting is then cooked onto the plate, and when the plate is put into the ferric chloride, the acid bites away at the exposed surfaces of the plate.  An example of one of my prints, which uses aquatint, can be viewed by clicking here.  Note that the magenta flowers in the background of the Cat & Rabbit etching were created on a separate plate using aquatint.  That plate was printed first, and the etching and line work were printed second or on top of the aquatint flowers.

Photogravure

Photogravure prints are part of the intaglio family.  Photogravure plates are light sensitive, and they have a grain texture to the surface.  The image is exposed and etched on to the light sensitive plate.  For my photogravure prints, I created them using original pencil drawings.  Photogravure prints can also be made from photographic images.  

Once the image is on the plate, the same process used for printing intaglio plates is used.  So, the plate is inked, wiped, and run through the press by hand with a sheet of paper over the plate.  The image is transferred to the paper.  This is repeated for the edition.

Silk Screen printing

Screen prints are created by pushing ink through a special screen using a squeegee.  For this process, the screens must be prepped.  For my screens, I would use an emulsion coating to cover the screen, and then my image was burned on to the screen.  The burned areas of the screen would create openings in the emulsion.  This allows ink to go through these areas and onto the paper when ink is squeegeed over the screen.  This process is continued to create an edition.  It is also repeated to create different color layers for the print.  An example of multi color or multi layer screen prints would be my posterized butterfly screen prints.

Monoprint

Monoprints are quite different from the other forms of printmaking that I have described.  Monoprints are unique and can only be created once. 

The monoprints that I have made usually consist of applying paint to Plexiglas using a brush or other tools.  I then run this through the press.  Monoprints can also be similar to collages.  Artists sometimes add different paper, textures, and maybe even leaves on their monoprint plates to create their artwork.

I have used monoprints for backgrounds of etchings like in my Weeping Willow and Winter Tree pieces. In this piece, the monoprint plate would have been run through the press, and then the process for an intaglio etching would have been printed on top of the monoprint.

Monoprints tend to be more unique than other forms of printmaking.  With a monoprint, it is hard to recreate the same color and design over and over again.  For me, I use monoprints more like painting transfers.

Painting

For all of my paintings, I begin with a sketch.  I work in a variety of mediums for painting, one of my favorites being watercolors. I mainly use watercolor paint for my highly detailed nature studies and pet portraits.

I also work in oil and acrylic. My recent pieces have focused on color and shape within nature.

Click here to view an example of my watercolors, and click here to view an example of one of my oil paintings.