Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Sunscreen


Pastel painting of mother applying sunscreen to little daughter's nose. Behind them, a very large wave is breaking



Pastel, 13.5" x 24"


The etching I recently posted was based on this pastel painting, which is in turn based on a little sketch I did of a scene observed at the beach circa 2009.

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Van Horn Park Peninsula

ink drawing of trees on peninsula, water reflections

block in of large light and shadow shapes


Pen and ink, brushpen, inkwash, white pen, white gouache on toned paper

4" x 6"

The second pic shows the block-in I did on site before filling in details and shading at home.

Monday, May 15, 2023

Sunscreen

Etching of mother applying sunscreen to daughter's nose as a giant wave breaks behind them

Etching 21/2" x 4"

I did some etching way back in my school days and always wanted to get back into it, but didn't have the space or money for a full sized press. I recently acquired this adorable Open Press (about 3" x 9" bed) and started investigating non-toxic etching techniques.

Tiny Open Press etching press with copper plate on bed.

 I took a workshop at Zea Mays, a world-renowned center for non-toxic print making, and have been experimenting with etching using BIG ground, ferric chloride etchant, and Akua inks. I've been able remove the ground and ink using a mixture of Bon Ami powder and soy sauce - no volatile solvents. You still have to take reasonable precautions with the ferric chloride, but it's definitely safer for you and the environment than the traditional acids and asphaltum ground.


Tube of BIG etching ground and brayer





Akua ink and Mag Mix with glass inking plate.



I made a vertical etching tank from a Mrs. Meyers hand soap container with a slot cut to lower the plate into the ferric chloride by a length of packing tape.

alt="Vertical etching tank made from small soap container, with copperplate being lowered through slot into ferric chloride"


This etching used a combination of hard ground, soft ground and drypoint techniques as well some scraping and burnishing where I screwed up.





Access road into woods

I only had fifteen or twenty minutes to get the essentials down on site.I filled in the rest later from memory, photo, and imagination.

pen and ink, ink wash sketch of light filtering through leaves illuminating dirt road into woods.