Etching Hepworth

Since finishing the MA at UWE I've been without the facilities to etch copper - its been like losing a chunk of my character, etching had become part of who I was in quite a significant way during those 3 years. But all is now rectified as I have joined a local print making co-operative. Its so exciting to making plates and printing again.

To start me off I used the back of an old plate cut into smaller pieces. This is a 'no pressure' way of getting going because the copper isn't precious, and sometimes there are some juicy marks already on the plate that add to the new image.

First stages of small prints based on the sketch book drawings from my last post, 'Inspirational Hepworth'. The shapes are wonderful to work with.
There is a beautiful surface to Barbara Hepworth's sculptures and the subtle colour varies depending on the material she uses. Whilst colour is usually a scary prospect for me I decided to try some top rolls of (subtle) colour.

I'm not sure the grey/lilac works, but it was exciting to see the white flashes that appeared where my open bite had etched really deeply.
They could stay like this... but I'm going to try some other colour ways, and maybe a burnished aquatint in the background.
I'll keep you posted.

Its great to be etching again!