NEW PORTRAIT IMAGES
This fall I really enjoyed working on a portrait commission of twins Hannah and Nicholas. I met their father after completing the portraits and recognized him immediately as he has the same chin that I had been studying and drawing for weeks.
The copper printing plates were done using the classic "drypoint" technique used by Rembrandt and Durer. Drypoint refers to the technique of using a very sharp needle to scratch literally thousands of lines directly in to the plate so that the grooves are created through the strength of your hand rather than through an acid etching process. My hand would only last through about three hours of drawing before it would be too fatigued to continue.
Drypoint etchings have a lovely and highly sought after "Burr" at the edge of each printed line. But because the line is quite shallow and delicate only a few prints can be pulled from each plate before loosing the integrity of the image.
Hannah and Nicholas's parents are connoisseurs of Japanese art. In a few of the prints I sought to capture the effect of a Japanese wood block print using Japanese paper. While printing the plate I used the chine colle printing techinique to permanently bind the yellow Japanese paper to the foundation paper.
You will find more portraits of Hannah and Nicholas in the "Portraits" section of the web site.
Artist Statement:
I have always had a love for the well drawn line.
The technique of classic copper plate etching uses acid to permanently engrave hundreds of well drawn lines into a copper plate. After repeated workings of the plate, ink is coaxed, squished and pushed into these etched lines with a fine tarlatan cloth. Under the great weight of the etching press, the image is finally printed on dampened paper,sometimes requiring multiple plates and pressings for each color. This entire process is laboriously repeated for each print.
Most of my prints are unique or available in editions of fewer than 20 prints. I am always available for commissions of your family, home or neighborhood.
Currently located in Brooklyn, I can best be found at: hannaday@hotmail.com
This fall I really enjoyed working on a portrait commission of twins Hannah and Nicholas. I met their father after completing the portraits and recognized him immediately as he has the same chin that I had been studying and drawing for weeks.
The copper printing plates were done using the classic "drypoint" technique used by Rembrandt and Durer. Drypoint refers to the technique of using a very sharp needle to scratch literally thousands of lines directly in to the plate so that the grooves are created through the strength of your hand rather than through an acid etching process. My hand would only last through about three hours of drawing before it would be too fatigued to continue.
Drypoint etchings have a lovely and highly sought after "Burr" at the edge of each printed line. But because the line is quite shallow and delicate only a few prints can be pulled from each plate before loosing the integrity of the image.
Hannah and Nicholas's parents are connoisseurs of Japanese art. In a few of the prints I sought to capture the effect of a Japanese wood block print using Japanese paper. While printing the plate I used the chine colle printing techinique to permanently bind the yellow Japanese paper to the foundation paper.
You will find more portraits of Hannah and Nicholas in the "Portraits" section of the web site.
Artist Statement:
I have always had a love for the well drawn line.
The technique of classic copper plate etching uses acid to permanently engrave hundreds of well drawn lines into a copper plate. After repeated workings of the plate, ink is coaxed, squished and pushed into these etched lines with a fine tarlatan cloth. Under the great weight of the etching press, the image is finally printed on dampened paper,sometimes requiring multiple plates and pressings for each color. This entire process is laboriously repeated for each print.
Most of my prints are unique or available in editions of fewer than 20 prints. I am always available for commissions of your family, home or neighborhood.
Currently located in Brooklyn, I can best be found at: hannaday@hotmail.com
