Final proof --
Etching on B.I.G. hard grounds,
after 40 minutes in Hydrochloric acid
I first drew the figure on the B.I.G. hard grounds
with a water soluble Stabilo pencil
I started drawing into the copper plate with a stylus
while the white pencil marks were still there
The white pencil marks came off easily with water
All the lines were made
with the flexible knife end
of this sculpture tool
Ready for etching
PREPARATION
Cutting copper plate on the shear
Beveling the copper plate
by rubbing it on sandpaper
glued to a weight
Backing the copper plate with
sticky back Contact paper
Rolling the Contact paper
on a warmed surface
Cleaning the copper plate
with Bar Keepers Friend
Cleaning the copper plate surface
with weak lye and calcium carbonate power
Brayering on the B.I.G. ground
onto the copper plate
Heating the copper plate with B.I.G. ground
for 20 minutes
to harden the grounds
CLEAN UP
Coconut oil
cleans oil based ink well,
off hands and the copper plate
While we made the print before taking off the B.I.G. grounds --
we cleaned the ink off with coconut oil and a citric cleaner,
and that took the B.I.G. grounds off the copper plate
Cleaned plate
OBSERVATIONS
I made this etching in Argos Gallery, where the Santa Fe Etching Club is located.
It was nice drawing printing in the same studio, in the same day. I don't know why I didn't do this before. I did come in the day before, and cut and prepared a copper plate with B.I.G. grounds.
Eric used a lighter gauge of copper plate than they sold at Takach Press (which seemed half as thick). This thinner copper plate was easier to bevel, by hand pulling it over hard sandpaper (see image above).
We "hardened" the B.I.G. grounds (available at Takach Press) on a hot plate for 20 minutes, at low temperature. This seemed to work. The plate was still sticky to the touch, until it cooled off. Normally I leave the coated copper plate in a transparent box, in the New Mexico sun, for a couple of days.
Eric had had problems with the B.I.G. hard grounds in some tests. With lighter lines, the shiny copper showed through, but did not etch. I have had this problem with the B.I.G. soft grounds. There may be an invisible residue under the black hard ground that resists the acids. This was not a problem for me however, as I draw pretty heavy-handedly, making an almost dry point line every time I touch the copper plate.
This time I drew very densely around the figure, which printed very black, and pushed the figure out. I did not have to use aquatint to bring the figure out. The lines were thin, not wide, so the etched lines picked up the ink.
I drew the whole figure with the knife end of a sculpture tool. I liked the flexibility of this tool. However, I might need to use another tool, like sewing machine needle, for more control, to achieve details in the face and hands.
I drew with the knife end of this sculpture tool,
which has some bounce and flexibility,
which allows me to draw long, curved lines
We proofed the etching without taking off the B.I.G. grounds. Had we done this with Akua ink, we could have washed off the ink with water, and the B.I.G. grounds would have still stayed on. Then I could have drawn back into the plate, adding details and other elements.
I left the proof for Dr Robert Bell.
This time we used oil based ink to proof, and cleaned the plate with coconut oil and a citric solvent. This took the B.I.G. grounds off (though not so easily). There are other products that will take the B.I.G. grounds off more easily, and they also claim to be "safe."
The next step is to attempt B.I.G. soft grounds again, and harden the grounds on a hot plate, after making the drawing. That way I could still etch and proof in the afternoon.
Also I might need more drawing time. I could add details after the drawing session in hard ground. Or after hardening the soft grounds, I could draw more lines with a hard stylus, before the first etch. I'm afraid that I might have opened another Pandora's Box, having only timidly approached etching so far.
Note on the different in thickness of copper plates, between the Santa Fe Etching club and what Takach sells:
Santa Fe Etching club copper plates -- "18 gauge," .0323" thick
Takach copper plates -- "20 gauge," .0485" thick
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