Monday 21 March 2011

SILK AQUATINT

The holy grail for many printmakers is to be able to print a dense black. In etching this can be achieved through mezzo tint or using a lung damaging resin which is melted on to the plate. For collagraph printmakers it is usually carborundum grit, difficult to ink and only really useful in large areas. Easier to handle and wonderfully affective is silk aquatint.

Using chiffon or silk attached to the card plate using acrylic paint, tones are then introduced using acrylic gel mediums and PVA glue in various layers, the white area on the above plate is a thin piece of card with detail scored into it.
When inked with colour the plate prints like this.
This silk aquatint has tile cement with leaves and wall paper pressed into it to make the textures.
The resulting print is full of subtle tonal contrasts. The chicken print is 5ins x 5ins and the rook is about 10ins x 5ins. Inspired by these 2 experiments I am now working on a much larger piece, wish me luck!








10 comments:

Carrie said...

Good luck! I really love that rook, I've been fascinated lately with watching the crows and magpies building their nests and fighting over territory.

LAC EMP 2020 said...

Sue,
I thought silk organza was the fore-runner to using wood glue to getting 'lights' on a plate? Have you used both here, with one medium on top of another? I think I understand.... but then again, you know me... whatever the answer, the results look good. I suspect I would understand better if I saw the prints up close and in detail. Show me next time I see you and maybe all will become clear! Lesley x

Lynn Taylor said...

Looking fabulous!

Gina said...

These are fabulous Sue.

Jill said...

I love the textures in both of these prints.

menopausalmusing said...

Loving the rooks....... such lovely, lovely texture.

Robyn Sinclair said...

Good luck. You don't really need it. I already love your work.

J.G.Nieuwenhof said...

Collagraph really gets my blood boiling. Love the Rook! Jen

Tricia said...

I've just learned of this technique today. Your prints are beautiful!

SOO's Travels said...

Aha so thats what an aquatint chicken is MEANT to look like, ha ha - lovely