Archive for category Subject: Etching
Colour Etching || Nigel Oxley
Posted by henry in Author: Nigel Oxley, Medium: Printmaking, Publisher: A&C Black, Series: Printmaking Handbook, Subject: Etching on July 3, 2007
This small paperback condenses a vast amount of information and experience into its 128 pages.
Nigel Oxley founded the Kelpra studio, which produced editions for artists such as Elisabeth Frink, John Piper and Patrick Heron and the book is illustrated with their works, including stage proofs and inking notes.
Behind this is a well-structured manual on how to make colour prints, going through all the stages of the process from preparation of the plate to the pulls for each colour and the precautions, both artistic and safety related, that are necessary.
The way Nigel tells it, colour etching sounds almost like a simple process and he is excellent at navigating the many complexities and pointing out ways around the possible pitfalls. Work of this quality is, of course, beyond the novice, but the way Nigel tells it, there’s hope for even the most inexperienced printmaker. Anyone who is more than a little proficient and is aware of the mountain they have to climb, as well as those who are familiar with Nigel’s work and simply want to hear it from the master’s lips, will want this book.
This quietly authoritative series from A&C Black continues to impress.
A&C Black 2007
£14.99
Etching & Photopolymer Intaglio Techniques || Colin Gale
Posted by henry in Author: Colin Gale, Medium: Printmaking, Publisher: A&C Black, Series: Printmaking Handbook, Subject: Etching on June 27, 2006
Printmaking is, generally speaking, an art followed more by the professional than the amateur. A quite heavy investment in equipment is required and there are some quite serious health and safety issues to be considered as well.
Nevertheless, everyone has to start somewhere, or just needs a basic handbook and this series is aimed squarely at those specific requirements. Anyone finding this review helpful will find it an advantage to follow the series link below and read about other titles from A&C Black on printmaking. The publisher has laudably not attempted to produce a one-for-all compendium but rather to concentrate on very specific areas and to do them justice individually.
This volume is aimed at artists interested in photopolymer technology, the use of light-sensitive materials which can be applied to a variety of backing supports such as metal, plastic or board. Colin Gale, founder of Artichoke Print workshop, also covers acids, aquatint, papers, presses and inks.
This is an authoritative look at a very specialised subject and one which is only likely to be visited in book form occasionally. The whole series brings the available information very much up to date and deals with the safe practice that has become a much greater concern and also the Health and Safety legislation that goes along with that. The book is well-illustrated with the work of a number of contemporary printmakers and contains, for the price, a very reasonable amount of colour.
Year published 2006
List price: £14.99
