This printmaking process is one I have been developing for the last few years. The results are similar, although a bit starker in places, to those achieved using etching but the procedure is, in my mind, more tactile. There are fewer stages involved in the actual image-making so less need to break down the image you want into tone & line as you can do them both at once. Plus, the materials are a lot cheaper & you can work at home, or in a studio without having to fill up your sink with acid.

First of all I take a piece of card, smooth on one or both sides & quite dense, between 1mm & 1.5mm in thickness. On to this I draw the image I want to print in pencil.

 


 

 

 

Then I use a sharp knife (the Swann-Morton 10A  scalpels are the best) to cut out the image & slice lines for any linear detail I want to appear. Areas of shading can be formed by cutting round the area & then peeling off the top layers of the card. The more layers you remove, the darker the tone will be when printed. You can also add texture to the shaded areas with the knife. Any areas you leave as smooth card will appear pale when printed. Once it is done it will look something like this:

 

 

 

 

Some areas of the plate will appear lighter when you hold it up to the light. This is basically the reverse of how the image will appear when printed. It's good to hold it up to a lamp intermittently to check you have enough variations of tone.

 

 

 

 

Once finished the plate needs to be varnished. It will otherwise fall apart, stick to the paper & bits will fall off. I use a standard waterproof varnish. Apply a good thick coat, let it dry for a good few hours & then apply a second coat.

 

 

 

 

The plate can then be printed using the intaglio method, as you would a metal plate or collograph: rub in a load of sticky, oil-based ink & wipe off with scrim. Then put them through the press with some damp paper on top. After printing, the remaining ink can be wiped off with a white spirit solution. You're always left with ink on the plates which can't be removed (don't scrub too hard or the varnish will disintegrate), but that means the plates are often as, if not more beautiful than the prints.

 

 

 

Have a look at my prints section to see how these plates came out.