Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Multi-tonal aquatint, and a riddle

 Remember the Aquatint self-portrait? Here I use a similar method to create a multi-tonal zinc plate, with black, white, and three shades of grey. For funsies, I included a riddle to go with the print- see if you can work it out! 





Thursday, February 7, 2013

Conclusion to Adventures with Giorgio Morandi


Last week I shared a quick study on the printmaker/painter Giorgio Morandi. Since then, it's been something of a crosshatching party, culminating in yet another acid etched plate. This time we used a combination of drypoint and acid etching, using hard ground as a resist.


 (The only time I have to draw is when I'm hanging out in the lab, waiting for assays to run. Hence, the subject matter)

Methodology after the cut


Sunday, February 3, 2013

Giorgio Morandi study- an adventure in crosshatching across disciplines

Giorgio Morandi  was an early 20th century printmaker, and I had never heard of him before last Thursday. However, we were assigned to check out some of his drypoint still life etchings, copy one, and follow up with a still life of our own.




This post contains something of a personal adventure for me, as I (eh heh he) cross-hatch some preconceptions, and learn a bit about the art of laboratory work.


Saturday, February 2, 2013

Drypoint commemorative stamp

Our second assignment was to design a commemorative stamp, 2"x3", and scratch it onto a small zinc plate using the drypoint technique. I pondered designs for Sugar Pie Desanto and Etta James, Mia Zapata, even Fred Astair. In the end though, I ended up with a sketchbook page full of Tank Girl fanart... Thus, I give you a commemorative stamp of tank girl (though I don't think the USPS will accept it...).



Wherein I complain about engraving Additional comments behind the jump

Aquatint self-portrait print

...So I failed in my original plan to create more artwork on my own time. However, perhaps I'm not beyond hope- I started taking an Intaglio (in-TAL-lee-oh) printmaking class, and now I can justify spending time on art. Pardon me while I click my heels in joy!

Enough excuses. Here's a two-tone aquatint self-portrait pulled off an acid-etched zinc plate. Methods, progress shots, and rambling behind the jump,  in case you wanna learn about how this was made.


4"x 5"