Some words about the Etching Technique

The etchings are produced by the same process that was first used in the sixteenth century to produce prints. A metal plate, in this case zinc, is polished to a mirror finish and then covered with an acid resistant varnish. The artist then carefully draws the image in reverse on the plate by removing the varnish with a needle.

The plate is then placed in acid which 'bites' into the metal to produce the fine lines that will hold the ink where the varnish has been removed. The varnish is then wiped from the plate and a further etching technique called 'aquatint' is applied to produce the tones on the plate. The resulting image is printed by hand.

Because the metal is soft and wears out, the number of prints is limited. Each print is numbered and signed by the artist in pencil.