INTAGLIO / Aquatint Maury | Fall 2019 An aquatint is an etching with tonal passages that resemble a wash. An aquatint employs acid resistant particles to create an irregular dot pattern on the plate. The acid resistant particles can be applied using spray paint, rosin, or other acid resistant particles to create a random texture. Aquatint can be used alone or in combination with drypoint and etching techniques. Generally, aquatint is applied after an image has already been created with drypoint or etching to add tonal values to the image. But there are many ways to use aquatint, including applying rosin or spray paint on top of hard ground (before the plate is put in the ferric chloride bath). Note: You will print with less pressure for aquatints.

Francisco Goya, Que Gerrero! (How Warlike!), 1877, Etching and burnished aquatint.

A 50% coverage of the plate is ideal.

too sparse just right too heavy

1 ROSIN Grains of rosin are dusted onto a plate, then melted slightly, so that the rosin can create tiny islands for acid to bite around. Aquatint provides a texture, or tooth, to hold the ink.

Rosin can be applied by hand or using a traditional rosin box. Apply rosin by hand by placing rosin powder into a nylon and shaking it onto the plate as desired. This allows for a more variable application.

How To / The Rosin Box:

You will need to wear proper protective gear when using the Rosin box. There are respirators on the shelf nearby or bring your own dust mask. Rosin is dangerous if inhaled over time.

1. Degrease the plate with ammonia and whiting and dry the plate well. 2. Turn the hot plate on so it has time to warm to 400°. 3. Place the plate on a piece of cardboard slightly larger that the plate itself. The cardboard makes it easy to remove the plate from the rosin box without disturbing the freshly applied dust. 4. Ch eck the rosin box to be certain no one has left a plate lingering inside. 5 . Crank the handle on the box to create a copious dust cloud. Knock on the outside of the box while rotating it. 6. Bring the box to rest at the bottom of the rotation and begin timing the wait interval immediately. 7. Timing is critical in applying rosin to a plate. Typically a number of sample tests are performed to determine rosin application time intervals. Try beginning by creating the cloud, waiting 30 seconds, inserting the plate in the box, then leaving the plate in the box for 60 seconds. If the application is too dense, increase the time prior to inserting the

plate to 60 seconds. Continue to experiment with various intervals of waiting to insert the plate and leaving the plate in the box to achieve optimal rosin coverage. 8. Following the wait interval, carefully open the door on the rosin box, insert the plate, (support the plate on the cardboard template). Close the door gently and hold shut. 9. CAREFULLY open the door on the rosin box. Gently lift the cardboard template supporting the etching plate and remove the plate from the box without hitting or disturbing the rosin. 10. Set the plate aside then close and latch the door on the rosin box. Sweep up any rosin that may have

escaped from the box and deposit it in the trash. 11. Place the plate on a sheet of newspaper on the hot plate for 2-5 min. 12. Rosin is pale yellow prior to fusing, and turns transparent when it reaches melting temperature. Rosin not adequately adhered will come off the plate when etching. Rosin over melted spreads and clumps together creating a coarse aquatint. 13. Allow the plate to cool. 14. Block out any areas of the plate you wish to preserve as is prior to etching the aquatint areas. Allow the ground to dry.

Tips Regarding Dot Coverage and Etching of an Aquatint:

1. A 50% coverage of whatever material used for creating the dot pattern is ideal. The advantage of a rosin aquatint is the refined quality of the aquatint due to the minute size of the rosin dust particle. Too dense coverage with rosin. When fused, the rosin particles will melt together and largely prevent the plate from etching. 2. An inadequate application of dot particles cannot hold up under acid exposure. When etched the aquatint will have pit areas larger than the land areas. When printed the aquatint will look weak due to inadequate tooth for holding ink. 3. A brief exposure to the acid will yield a light tone. A longer acid exposure will yield a darker tone.

2 However, there is a point, when the plate left too long in the acid, will loose it's tone instead of getting darker. Uneven muddy tones are the result of over exposing the aquatint to the acid. 4. Aquatint tonal values are achieved by doubling exposure time in the acid. When etching a test exposure plate begin with 15 seconds, remove it from the acid bath, rise well, block out a small strip then repeat this process adding 30 seconds, + 1 minute, + 2 minutes, + 4 minutes, etc. 5. When the etching of the aquatint is complete: • remove the plate from the bath allowing the ferric chloride to drip into the bath • rinse the front and back of the plate well and dry the plate • remove the hard ground protecting any areas of the plate • dissolve particles of rosin with denatured alcohol

NOTE: Like drypoint, a plate etched with aquatint should be handled carefully. Do not scrub or abrade the aquatint when cleaning the plate as this could reduce the plate's tooth and weaken the print.

Aquatint tones can be lightened by using a burnishing tool to reduce the tooth and thereby creating a range of tones. To remove the aquatint on heavily aquatinted areas shave the area with the scraper first, then polish it with the burnisher afterwards.

SPRAY PAINT Spray paint is a great method to use to play with variable dot coverage. Particles can also be varied in size by the way you hold the can and the pressure applied to the nozzle.

You will need to wear proper protective gear when spray painting. Use enamel spray paint.

1. Degrease the plate with ammonia and whiting and dry the plate well. 2. Take the plate to a spray booth and lay it flat on a piece of newsprint to protect the surface of the spray booth. 3. Shake the spray paint can well. Test the paint first on a piece of scrap paper or cardboard. 4. Hold the spray paint can several inched away from the plate and spray with light, even passes until desired dot density is achieved. Try for 50% coverage. 5. Clean spray paint can nozzle properly (to prevent clogging) by turning the can upside down and spraying until the spray is clear.

Note : Spray paint is removable with lacquer thinner rubbing alcohol, or acetone.

DRAWING FLUID You can use drawing fluid as a resist to the liquid hard ground to create an aquatint-like texture.

1. Photo-expose an image onto the screen (like usual) keeping in mind that the texture can’t be too fine for the screen to hold onto to and not too thick or it will be difficult to wipe. I use Photoshop filters like Noise, Color Halftone and Mezzotint to mimic the random, fine aquatint texture. 2. Print the image with drawing fluid (instead of ink) onto the plate. 3. Let the drawing fluid dry. You can blow dry it to speed things up. 4. Coat the plate with a thin application of liquid hardground and let air dry. If the hardground is too thick, the image may not release and rinse out. 3 5. Submerge the plate into a tray of hot water. The image should wash right out. You can use a soft sponge or your hand to encourage more stubborn areas. 6. Remove plate from tray, rinse with water, and dry. 7. Etch plate as you would normally to create the desired tones.

NON-ROSIN Other acid-resistant materials can be used to achieve a randomized texture. For instance, a toothbrush dipped in liquid hard ground, drawing fluid, or spray paint can yield interesting results. Air brush tools can also give you a fine particles and good control.

OTHER WAYS OF USING AQUATINT

Litho Pencil/Crayon You can draw over the aquatint with litho pencils/crayons, or paint marker, in stages to create gradations of tone. They are acid-resistant and offer a different opportunities for texture.

Spit-bite Aquatint Rather than making a design in a ground for the acid/ferric to etch through, the design is made by painting acid solutions directly onto an aquatinted plate. Marks made with spit-biting are smoky and soft-edged, almost like watercolor. It is impossible when applying the acid solution to tell how dark the mark will be, tests are your best way forward.

3 variables will influence how dark the mark will be: -length of time acid sits on plate -number of times an area is brushed with acid -strength of acid solution (which for you, is always the same).

Debora Ando, Geography of the Memory #1, spit bite and dry point

4 How To:

You will need to wear proper protective gear when using spit biting. While ferric chloride is a less toxic substance, it is corrosive and can burn the skin. GLOVES MUST BE WORN!

You will need: - gloves - a durably aquatinted plate, with coverage of at least 50% or more. A more dense aquatint seems to hold the subtlety of marks better. But be careful of going too heavy. - a glass container to hold the acid mixture - gum arabic - ferric chloride /acid - soft brushes, preferably without metal - hard ground tray

1. Place your aquatinted plate into the hard ground tray (to protect the metal tables).

2. Mix a small amount of ferric (straight from the vertical etching tank) with a little bit of gum to give it some body and prevent it from beading up on the plate. Mix thoroughly. *a general ratio would be ½ cup ferric with ¼ teaspoon of gum Arabic added.

3. Apply the mixture to the plate as desired. Keep accurate records of your application (length of time, passes, etc.). Note: It generally takes a few applications of the ferric chloride mixture to build up a tone on the plate. You may want to pool the ferric and let it sit for a long time.

4. When finished etching, rinse the plate immediately with water and dry.

5. Rinse out brushes, mixing container and ferric tray.

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