Etchings

These are original hand-pulled etchings drawn on a copper plate. By drawing through a protective coating on the plate, acid is able to contact the exposed plate “biting” the lines permanently into the surface.  Tone values and textures are added through other techniques but each time made permanent by the acid bath. The image is printed onto paper using a press from ink trapped in the lines and pits on the plate. Each print has been hand pulled by me, then signed and numbered.

My work is started in soft ground and drawn directly on the copper plate in order to retain the immediacy and freshness of a drawing. I then work to explore and exploit the unique properties of etching to develop the image and bring concept and process into balance. A marriage occurs between ink and paper when the plate is passed through the press. This creates a depth of line and tone that is unique to etching. I often manipulate the ancient method of Chine colle to put a contemporary spin on a historically traditional medium.

Monoprints

This method combines painterly techniques and the use of the press resulting in unique marks that are cannot be achieved by any other method.  In the “Shoreline” series the plate surface was painted with etching ink and oil paint. A range of marks and textures were created by using various tools as well as additive and subtractive methods to develop the imagery. The paint and ink were then transferred from the plate to paper using a press. The image can be printed only once making it one of a kind and thus a monoprint.

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