Experimenting with chine collé

Chine Collé

I want to do some experiments which add colour to my prints. Chine collé is a technique where thin coloured paper is adhered to the printing paper during the printing process. Sometimes thin  coloured Japanese paper is used, but for these experiments I just used coloured tissue paper which one can buy from a stationer or art shop.

I decided to use the print of the heron I had previously done, which is a dry point etching. The heron is standing in water, and so I thought that I could try and get the effect of water by using the coloured tissue. A print of the heron is shown below, which I had simply printed in black ink.

For my experiments with Chine collé I inked up the plate as normal with black ink. I then used different pieces of tissue, cut or torn into different shapes, for a number of prints, to see which worked the best. I placed the tissue on top of the inked plate and then applied a thin layer of glue (pritt stick, with water) to the tissue paper. I then laid the plate on the printing press with the glued tissue paper uppermost, placing the printing paper on top. I then rolled the plate through the press. The pressure of the printing press adheres the glued side of the tissue to the paper. The results are shown below.

 

 

 

 

Conclusions

 

I started with a piece of tissue which covered the whole of the printing paper and then gradually reduced the amount of tissue I applied, to obtain different effects and depths of water. I felt that the shade of blue which I used for the two first prints was too bright, so I changed to the lighter shade for the rest of the experiment. I think that this is an improvement as the colour is more natural. I concluded that the last two prints (shown above) have come out the best. The colour is more natural and the shapes are discreet and blend in with the ripples of the water. I will definitely use this process again as I believe that the results are subtle, but effective. Next time, I would like to experiment with Japanese paper (if I can get hold of some), as I believe that the colours do not fade over time (which may happen to the tissue).

 

Recent work: the Cement Works, South Ferriby

The Cement Works, South Ferriby

Screen prints

After my research on the screen printing process and the work of Andy Warhol, I worked on a photographic screen print of the Cement Works at South Ferriby, which forms a dominant feature on the banks of the river Ancholme, at the outlet to the Humber. I learned the photographic screen print process and how to use the equipment.  I experimented using black and then different colours. The results were quite effective (see below).

I then decided that I wanted to experiment with the same subject matter, but using a different printing medium which would require the use of further skills. I also felt that the factory was very tonal, and so thought about how best to achieve that result.

Etching and Aquatint

The factory sits in a prominent site and can be clearly  seen from both banks of the Humber. Sometimes the tall chimney emits smoke which mingles with the light effects of the sky, especially interesting on a cloudy day. Its reflections play on the water beneath. I wanted to capture the sheer size of the cement works, its dominant silhouette against the skyline, reflections in the river beneath, and dramatic light within a cloudy sky. I wanted to contrast a different technique to the screen print to achieve this outcome.

Stage 1: Etching on a hard ground using a zinc plate

I thought that I could bring out more detail of the structure of the factory by drawing direct with an etching needle. The outline was very important, together with the shapes of the separate parts of the building. I also wanted to capture the overhead conveyor belt, with the light coming through the structure. These factors pointed to me using a hard ground on a zinc plate into which I could scratch the required details. I made a print which illustrates the outcome of this first stage (below).

I was reasonably satisfied with the outcome, as it achieved the dominant effect of the factory which I was looking for, and incorporated the required detail. There is less detail in places where I wanted to create tone, which I left blank to work on during Stage 2. However, there were some scratch marks which appeared on the production of the print, which I was disappointed with. I wondered whether the plate had got scratched while I transported it, but I had carefully wrapped it up. Talking to others, including the printing technician, I think that the cause was more likely to do with the initial cleaning of the plate and the product I used - the technician had had a similar problem recently. So, in the future, I will have to be more careful what products I use to avoid creating any scratch marks.

Stage 2 : Aquatint using Nitric Acid

To create tone, I applied a "stopping out agent" - straw hat varnish - using a paint brush in five separate processes. Using the paint brush, freehand, with no prior drawing created a  "painterly" effect. The first stage created white areas as the "stop out" prevents the nitric acid bath from penetrating through to that area of the plate. At the same time the acid reacts with the exposed areas to etch further into the plate at each stage gradually creating darker effects. Overall, the plate went into the acid for a total of just over four minutes, which resulted in black for the final etching process. The stages were as follows:

1. 3/4 seconds (white)
2. 5 seconds (light grey)
3. 8 seconds (mid grey)
4. 20 seconds (dark grey)
5. 3 minutes 30 seconds (black)

I made a first proof to check the outcome (illustrated below).

I was quite pleased with the outcome as on the whole it achieved my goals - the mass and volume of the buildings, details of the structure, tonal qualities and atmosphere. The scratch marks can still be seen, but are less evident after the application of the aquatint. I felt that the process had suited the subject matter, producing good tones and atmosphere and I learned a lot from the process which I can use in the future. I felt that it was constructive to try a different technique for the same subject matter, as it produced a totally different result. Being drawn by hand gave the etching a uniqueness which the photographic screen print lacked, to some extent.