The Medium & the Prints
All these prints are made using various etching techniques, and then
almost
all of them are hand-colored with water color, colored pencil, etc. by
the artist. There are many books commonly available describing the
etching
process as it applies to fine art. Essentially, an image is etched onto
a metal plate (these are all on zinc or copper) using acids to do the
etching
of the metal, then a stiff thick ink is spread on the plate and then
wiped
off, by hand, for each copy. Since the image has been physically etched
into the plate, it holds ink. Then the plate is laid face up on the bed
of a press and a piece of dampened paper is laid on top of it, and both
are run between large steel rollers which mash the paper down on to the
plate and pick up the ink in the image, transferring the image to the
paper.
Even if there were no ink, there would still be a visible embossed
image
on the piece of paper, and almost all etchings display an embossed edge
around the image, created by the edge of the plate. All the work on
these
prints; (the creation and etching of the image on the metal plate, the
inking, wiping and printing of the images on the paper, and the hand
coloring
and of course the signing and numbering) is done personally by the
artist.
For a more detailed look at the process used to create these prints,
see
Work
in Progress. For a simple but excellent explanation of
etching
and other printmaking processes, see What
is a Print? from the Museum of Modern Art website.
Dimensions are given for the image (picture) area. All the prints
have
a 1 1/2 inch to 4 inch margin of blank paper around this - the smaller
margins on the smaller prints, so the paper size is larger than the
image
size. These are limited edition prints, with edition sizes ranging from
100 to 300 prints.
Questions, comments and shop talk are always welcome at elgon@dluxlink.com
Workshops
The artist conducts several workshops each year at Island International
Artists facility on Guemes Island in northern Puget Sound, Washington.
Information is available at 360-293-9572, or islandinternational.com.