Low tide experiments with inking drypoints

Low Tide   drypoint 3.5x15.8cm   ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

I had a tiny snippet of perspex left over from cutting down another plate and not being one to waste anything I thought I would use it for an experiment. I have come to the conclusion that the skill in printmaking very much lies in the skill of inking up the plate. It's quite a thing to learn - how much ink to apply, how much to wipe off, where to polish and where not to, colours behave very differently to the paint that I am used to and the consistency is a million miles away from acrylic and watercolour - beautiful sticky stuff that it is...

I digress, this little piece of acrylic with a simple design scratched in has been a test piece to practise with. The print on the right has some added marks in the plate where I wanted to add a little more tone but I am finding it interesting to see how the plate develops each time I print it and get braver and more experimental with the inking. These have been done over a series of a few weeks and as I have the time and inclination I will print a few more.

Feather studies and drypoint experiments

Feather I   proof drypoint   15x8cm ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

Feathers I is a drypoint made using an aluminum plate. In the grey version I used a roller to get a very thin layer of ink as a background after wiping the plate and then added more ink and took away more ink with a brush in areas of the feather. This was the first time that I had tried this technique and I rather liked the subtle effect. In the sepia version below I tried to vary the amount of ink along the feather to get a greater variation in tone just by wiping alone.

Feather I   proof drypoint   15x8cm ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

Feather sketches pencil a4 ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

Feather sketches pencil a4 ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

The drypoint below was made using a perspex plate which I printed onto handmade paper that had leaves within it. As the paper was so fine I didn't soak the paper this meant that the paper wasn't supple enough to get a good stand alone print from the burr as it went through the press, especially where the the thicker bits of leaves were. However it was enough to use as a base for a mixed media piece and a worthwhile experiment. It's certainly giving me food for thought and sparking some new ideas for the future.

Feathers  drypoint and mixed media on handmade paper   15x20cm   ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

Heavy weather in drypoint

Heavy Weather   drypoint 7.5x7.5cm   ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

We have been having a lot of heavy weather just lately mixed up with plain grey skies so the half hour break of blue sky and sunshine today was most welcome. As I type we are back to plain old grey....

A passing shower - drypoint and collagraph combination print

A Passing Shower I    collagraph with drypoint   12.5x12.5cm   ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

A Passing Shower II    collagraph with drypoint   12.5x12.5cm   ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

A Passing Shower III    collagraph with drypoint   12.5x12.5cm   ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

I've been experimenting with combining the two techniques using mountboard as a base for the plate. The land areas are a mixture of acrylic mediums and peeling back layers of the mountboard to reveal the texture. In the sky I used the etching tool to score lines. It is very satisfying to explore variations in mood and atmosphere by varying the inking of the plate. I can see so many avenues to explore.