Blog entry 58:
After realising that I wanted to focus more on depicting "Hell" or "Damnation" rather than "Heaven" or the "Divine"and after creating a set of collograph prints from the plates I had made when still considering the divine, I wanted to use my favourite method of printmaking, Drypoint Intaglio reduction ink.
(The term intaglio is Italian for incise)
This process is similar to Collograph, but instead of card (which layers are added to or cut into similarly to collage) the print plate is aluminium and is scratched into using a dry pint needle by hand or computer aided photographic machinery.
My Drypoint Plate is 500 x 500mm which is much larger than the collograph plates I have been working with (to get myself used to reduction ink printmaking again), which means I can add much more detail: This is also aided by the marks that can be scratched in to print also can be made very small with a good amount of control (my insatiable need for control with media and materials explained in blog entry 45). Working at this larger size however meant that it took a much longer amount of time to apply ink and rub off: I had to also add areas of ink back into the scratches which were very thin or that I had rubbed the ink out of to ensure the large multitude of lines I created would print.
I often liken the drypoint print to the work that can be achieved by using biro or fine liner, as makes can be made thinner and with less pressure to suggest a lighter area of tone, but essentially with one print (assuming that only one colour ink has been used and the print has not been printed on a bicolour or multicolour surface) only the colour of the ink and the surface will be present (e.g. black ink on white paper will equal a black and white print).
Drypoint Plate Damnation inked up with Raw Umber etching ink (Photograph) Plate 500 x 500mm:
Test print on A1 Cartridge Paper:
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| Test print on cartridge paper |
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| Test print on cartridge paper |
When taking prints from this drypoint plate, I realised that the quality of the paper which is being printed on is of paramount importance: The test print above is printed on cheap cartridge paper, whereas the print shown below is printed on a specialist printmaking paper which is much thinker, but unfortunately more expensive. It is apparent from looking at the two sets of photographs that the quality of line is extensively different, above it is inconsistent both in quality of line and thickness of ink, where as below the print is of much better, crisper quality. Throughout this project, I have been exploring the mediums and materials I have been using to get the best possible results, mainly in my samples book, I intend to come to a decision by the end of this semester about which materials I will use next semester and how is best to apply them.
Drypoint Print Damnation Raw umber etching ink 500 x 500mm on Seawhite 300gsm specialised print paper UP (unique print) (Photographs):
I am very happy with how this print has come out (although I had to pay a lot of money for the specialised paper) and now wish I had added in more hands to show a larger multitude of people in this Damnation; however the fact that there are only a number of hands ensures that the image is not too overcrowded and is suggestive of the inhabitants of The Library of Babel being close to extintion.
I have noticed from this image that the hand gestures and composition are working quite well for me and I now intend to look into this in more detail.
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