How do you make an Intaglio Print?

Intaglio is an umbrella term that incorporates etching, aquatint, soft-ground, and drypoint techniques. I wanted to talk about the process because I know many of you may not be familiar with intaglio. I started "She's Carnivorous" by putting a hard ground onto a copper plate. Next I composed a line drawing directly on the plate with metal etching needles. The act of drawing scrapes away the ground and reveals the copper underneath. After creating a line drawing, I drop the plate in acid to etch the line drawing into the plate. All the areas where I scraped away the ground will create grooved lines in the plate. These grooves are perfect for holding ink. After I'm satisfied with the line etch, I can remove the ground and print a proof of the plate. Etching plates are printed by putting ink on with a card and slowly wiping it off by hand. There is a special technique necessary to learn to do this properly and it has absolutely gorgeous effects. This antique art form is very different then digital or offset printing as each print is wiped very slowly by hand. Intaglio printmaking is a very artistic process and requires a great deal of finesse to get each print just right.

Aquatint makes tonal values & Drypoint is drawing without a ground

Next I wanted to add tonal values and texture to the background so I decided to add a soft ground to the plate. I arranged pencil shavings in the top of the print and ribbon pieces in the bottom. With the all the textures on the plate, I ran the plate through the printing press. After the plate came out, I removed all the pencil shavings and ribbon pieces. I was now ready to add aquatint with an airbrush gun; this sprays tiny dots onto the plate and it's a great way to get tone on an etching plate. I then etched the plate two different times. First, I etched the top (pencil shavings) section very quickly as I did not want the value to get very dark. After the plate was etched I took the plate out of the acid and blocked out the top area by painting on more ground. When I put the plate back into the acid the top portion will not etch. Next, I etched only the bottom section of the print (because the top was blocked by ground) for a longer time because I wanted a darker value. I was now ready to remove the ground and print a proof of the plate. After printing and looking at the proof I decided the plate needed a few more lines, so I started drawing directly on the plate without a ground. This technique is called drypoint, and this creates the effect of a glowing halo around the line.

Printing the edition

I printed another proof and decided that I was happy with the image. Each print is wiped delicately by hand and due to the process it has beautiful rich tonal qualities. I started on this print in April so the process has been very slow and deliberate. It's a very different artistic medium than painting and I really enjoy the differences. I've been very excited to work on this process and I'm happy to answer questions you may have.