Hand pulled Prints

All prints exhibited here are hand-pulled prints. This means, all prints are done manually, one careful piece at a time.

These are all limited editions and you will see the number of the print and the total number of prints pulled from that plate in the bottom right-hand corner. E.g. 3/10 means this is the third print of an edition of 10. After that, the plate has to be destroyed or significantly altered. There are no ‘second editions’.

A/P means ‘artist's proof’. This is an early print done before the artist has settled on the final version for the edition. It is also used for monoprints.

Due to the manual process, there are always small variations in the individual prints.

Etching

For an etching, a metal plate is covered in a waxy substance called ‘ground’. I use zinc or copper plates.

The image is drawn into the ground with a pointed tool. The plate is then immersed in an acid bath which bites lines into the metal where marks are scored into the ground.

After that, the plate is covered in thick printing ink which fills the etched grooves. The excess ink has to be removed by careful wiping. This process is very delicate and influences the intensity of the colour in the print.

Finally, a moistened piece of high quality paper is placed on the plate and it is run through a manual press (elbow grease!). For each copy, the plate has to be inked up freshly, so that prints can vary slightly.

Drypoint Etching

For this technique, softer materials such as Perspex, pvc, zinc or copper are used. The line is directly scored into the plate. The inking up and printing is the same as for etching, but due to the softer materials, the groove deteriorates faster, so that later prints become fainter. The softer the material, the less prints can be taken. Perspex allows you to pull a maximum of about six prints. That is assuming they all work out, and in printing, that hardly ever happens!

Lino Prints

For lino prints, a piece of linoleum or PVC is used as a print plate. The soft(ish) material is gouged with special tools. (I often gouge my fingers as well – ouch!) Then, ink is rolled onto the plate. The gouged areas are lower and do not pick up any ink. The plate is then covered with a piece of paper and run through a press.

Collographs

Collographs are prints from collages. Textured materials are glued onto a piece of card. The card itself can also be scored, cut, gouged, ripped – whatever leaves a mark. The plate is then varnished. The finished plate can be inked up by rolling ink onto the raised surfaces and / or by wiping and rubbing ink into the depressions. Then, the plate is run through a hand press to transfer the ink onto the paper. Collographs also deteriorate quickly due to the pressure of the printing press and do not yield large editions.

Lithographs

Lithographs are printings made on big limestone slabs. You draw or paint directly onto the stone with a greasy substance called tusche. The grease is absorbed by the stone. The surface of the stone is then moistened and greasy ink is rolled over the surface. The moist areas will reject the oily ink while the greasy areas will pick it up and transfer it onto the paper when run through the press.