Oak shadow

Westonbirt Arboretum remains a very strong inspiration as the year progresses. I have loved studying, sketching and photographing the trees while their branches are bare. I now have hundreds of photos and a fair few sketches to keep me going as the buds burst and the leaves start to appear.
These are the development stages of a new print which has been keeping me busy while the bigger projects get going.

The first layer of resist is splashed
across the surface of the plate

Sugar lift and dry brushed stop out
gives the shape of the trees

A thinned application of stop out
creates some shadows and depth

Burnishing creates more contrast and provides
a lighter toned 'pathway' leading through the image

'Oak shadow' 20 x 10cm
The shadow has been reworked to create a softer shape
and this etching is, I think, finished

I used to hate the idea of burnishing, but now I love the flexibility it gives.