September 16, 2017

Drawn in the Argos Gallery of Santa Fe:

(proof printed on Sept 29, 2017,

after a 30 minute etch)

I decided to try etching again, drawing directly into the red ground, from a live model.  I coated the copper plate with the new red BIG ground, and then set it in the New Mexico sun, in a transparent plastic box (acting like a greenhouse).  I did not heat the plate in an oven, or on a hot plate.

First I drew on the red plate with a black Stabilio All (Aquarellable) pencil, which is water soluble.  So I could erase a line with my wet finger, and keep drawing the form.

During the 3rd 20 minute session, I drew into the figure with a sewing needle mounted in a lead holder.

I washed off the Stabilo All pencil, and continued to draw with etching needles.

After the 3 hour session, I scanned and Photoshopped the plate, trying to get an idea of what the final image would look like after inking and running it through the press.

Photoshopped the scan of the plate,

to see what it might look like printed

UPDATE:

I proofed the print in Albuquerque on September 29, 2017, at Remarque/New Grounds Print Workshop (see first image in this blog entry).

I printed a proof of the print WITHOUT taking the red BIG ground off.  That seemed to work just fine. 

When I cleaned the Akua Carbon Black ink off with baby oil, some of the ground came off in specks.  However, I could not get much more of the ground off with baby oil; ie, baby oil would not take the grounds off the copper plate.  

I did not heat the plate originally in an oven or with a hotplate, rather I just set it out in the New Mexico sun to harden.  Had the red BIG ground been properly cured/fixed in the first place, it might not have come off with the baby oil (or maybe it would have).

Specs of BIG red ground

came off when I cleaned the ink with baby oil

The original idea was to proof the plate with the BIG grounds on it, and then scratch into the ground to add more lines, and then etch the plate again.  However, this time I just took all the ground off, and will probably re-coat the plate with red BIG grounds, if I want to add more etched lines to it.

The red BIG grounds came off with EZ Strip, which I bought at Home Depot. This is not the same paint stripper that was recommended in the BIG grounds video, as that the video made in the United Kingdom.  However, EZ Strip worked just fine, when I let the gel sit on the plate for a few minutes.  And it didn't smell or seem toxic, it was easy to use.  I tried to remove the BIG grounds on a previous plate with Brasso, and that smelled toxic and did not work nearly as well.

EZ Strip

EZ Strip took off the 

red BIG grounds easily

AN EXPERIMENT

Eric at Argos re-coated an etched copper plate with two kinds of grounds -- traditional hard grounds (left), and the new black BIG grounds (right).

With the traditional grounds he rolled on the wax with a brayer, while the copper was on a hot plate.  Then he "smoked" the copper plate, by holding it above a candle.  The candle let off soot, which tuned the plate black.  A black plate, of course, lets the artist see the lines as he draws them with an etching tool.

Bad photo.

Both the traditional hard grounds (left) 

and the new BIG grounds (right)

let the previous etched drawing show through equally well.

The traditional ground is matte,

while the BIG ground is glossy.

OTHER ETCHING ATTEMPTS

I previously drew from a live model, onto the new black BIG grounds:

Mary and I also experimented with etching one of my drawings on cotton vellum, using the Photogravure process at Remarque/New Grounds Print Workshop: