multiple plate etching process and Italian sunflowers

Inspired by a trip I took to Italy 5 years ago, I decided to take an old painting and make it into a line etching. I transformed the landscape a bit, by adding a windmill and some rolling hills. I really liked how the sunflowers were more defined in the front, and lost their detail in the background. I tried to give the impression of a vast landscape of sunflowers.

This is the first step in the three color line etching with aquatint process. This is the line etching, and the next step will be to transfer this image onto the other two plates. I will then aquatint (melt dust) onto the other two plates, and begin doing timed bitings into acid to get different values. Each plate has it's own color, so that when you print them all together the colors layer on top of each other and mix to get different colors.

Here is a color study I did on top of my line etching. This will give me a better idea of what colors and values I want to use when I aquatint the other plates.

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Multiple Plate Etching

Multiple plate line etching, with aquatint. 4X6 inches. Studio Proof.

Last week I shared the first step in the multiple plate etching process. Now I am sharing with you the final studio proof print. Next week I will show you step by step how I completed this project, and how I made revisions. But for starters, its important to note, that this process is very similar to how you would make a single plate line etching with aquatint. The only difference is that we are using three plates, all with one color to make a final print. For this one, I used three primary colors, red, yellow, and blue. Once all printed together, the colors I used mix to create the different colors you see in this print. More info on how I made each plate, next week.