In 2019 I attended an experimental etching course taught by the very talented Tony Ameneiro. I enjoyed it and learned a lot. I created a design from a close-up image of bone calcification, applied ground, etched, added a second layer using PVC film and included some scrim to add texture to the final print.

The mechanics were great, the execution and registration were spot on but the final print didn’t really come together as I wanted. The reality is that in workshop situations I rarely do my best work but I always pick up loads of tips and techniques to work with in the peace and quiet of my own printing space later.

Six years on I picked the pieces up again to rework the idea. I reviewed the key plate.

It was incredibly basic, lacking tone and interest. Using a rough flat brush I applied Winsor & Newton Photographic Opaque Gouache to the edges of the plate, outside the main design.

Using a sponge brush, the entire plate was covered in hard ground including the areas with the gouache coating. The zinc plate was immersed in hot water. The gouache, under the hard ground, softened and lifted bringing the ground with it and exposing the zinc below.

I can sense the question: why do this? It’s a variation on the sugar lift technique and allows a brush stroke effect to be created.

Note: Either do a google search on sugar lift etching or click HERE.

I etched the plate, saw it wasn’t perfect but persevered. I continued with my normal routine of blocking out selected areas, etching, blocking out more, etching again, etc., which creates a range of tones.

What a disaster!! Let’s look at the individual areas:

• The top and bottom sections showing the brush-stroke-like effects are exactly what I was looking for. This is where the gouache was painted on and subsequently lifted for etching. Great effect.
• The dark surround of the central bone calcification shape has come out quite well with a couple of tiny missed areas which can be repaired with an etching needle.
• The ‘floating’ shapes with the smaller bits inside have a good range of tones now.
• WHAT ON EARTH are all those nasty horizontal lines across the whole plate?

The answer is simple. In my own work space I use liquid hard ground as a resist against the acid when etching and my coverage is always good, not allowing any acid to accidentally touch areas I want to keep pristine (flat surface, no etching).
In this case, as I was working in a communal studio without my own materials, this plate was lightly covered with liquid ground using a foam brush which has left the ground too thin in places, allowing the acid to get through to the metal and etch into it.
Not what I wanted as it has also ruined the main design.

The only sections I felt I could improve were the inner lightly toned parts where the lines really affected the design. Using a round end brush and liquid hard ground I liberally applied the product to most of the plate leaving only the areas I wanted to re-etch, hoping to obliterate the interfering lines.

The plate was left in the acid to get a reasonably deep bite, before rinsing, cleaning and taking a trial print.

As the surround is now so much darker, holding significantly more ink, it makes the small floating areas look much lighter and I may have wiped the surface more to emphasize that.

Finally, I changed the colour combination, added the etched PVC film lines, applied a very lightly coloured rollover to unify the piece, changed the orientation to portrait and gave it a title.

This piece is one of two I exhibited in the Flights of Fancy exhibition at Hazelhurst Gallery & Arts Centre and is currently on display as part of a curated selection of pieces from that exhibition showing at Moran Health Care in Sylvania, NSW.

It’s come a long way from the 2019 workshop I attended. I’m a strong believer in revisiting projects, as time and experience bring new ideas, concepts and changes in methodology.