October 13, 2018

Drawn in the Argos Gallery of Santa Fe:

Proof made on October 19th,

at Remarque/New Grounds Print Workshop

in Albuquerque

6 x 6 inches
Unetched

I used a tool made by Dennis Liberty,

basically a sharped and curved nail

in a pin vise

What a print might look like,

simulated by XnView

I etched the plate in ferric chloride for 30 minutes,

at Remarque/New Grounds Print Workshop

in Albuquerque

WITHOUT taking off the BIG grounds,

I inked the etched plate with Akua black ink

The proof

next to the inked plate --

note that the BIG grounds are still on the plate

I cleaned the plate with mineral oil and alcohol, and the BIG grounds were still on the plate. Which means that I might be able to add lines, and etch the plate again -- without re-coating the plate with more grounds

At Remarque/New Grounds I found this Golden Stop-Out varnish, that they might have be using as hard grounds.

Golden Stop-Out Varnish for Intaglio

Later, about the 25th of October, I took the plate down to Manuel Guerra's studio in El Paso -- the Horned Toad Prints taller.  He proofed the plate on the small E-09 Conrad press I lent him, and with many different inks.  The subtle variations were stunning, with a range of dark to lighter proofs.

Best proof

The wide variation of proofs

with different inks

The 8 x 8 inch plate,

fit perfectly on the small E-09 Conrad press

Manuel Guerra gives is a crank --

will it be good enough for the 

Ambos Lados International Print Exchange

with he is co-sponsoring?

Things looking good

at Horned Toad Prints taller

in El Paso