Etching @ Glasgow Print Studio

I'm really enjoying my etching course at Glasgow Print Studio.

Last night we were learning aquatint. I enjoy the surprise element of printmaking and never quite knowing how things are going to turn out. We are using steel etching plates which already have quite a textured surface, so without burnishing, the background is already quite dark. You can see how dark the background of my print is which is frustrating, so next time I'm going to try copper which gives an almost white background.

For the purpose of the course we are using all the different etching techniques on one plate - I have already made soft ground and hard ground lines on the flamingos before adding tones with aquatint. I want to add some more definition so next week I'm going to add more hard ground lines to the print. The print above is very much an experiment and not a great work of art!

I've always been able to talk about etching techniques to customers in the gallery but this course has given me a much deeper understanding, and a new level of admiration for printmakers and what they achieve with these methods.