"On the Bridge", etching and aquatint
Introduction
When I wander around the River Hull area I am struck by how important the bridges are to the proper functioning of the city. They provide access over the river for road and foot traffic and when lifted allow for the safe passage of river craft. Before the bridges existed there were ferries to enable the two sides of the river to function as one entity.
I became aware of the engineering involved in the design and construction of a bascule bridge (a type of draw-bridge) when I painted Drypool Bridge. Scherzer was the inventor of a refinement of the bascule bridge called the Scherzer rolling lift bridge, which is the concept used for both of the Drypool and North Bridges. The design pivots the bridge like a rocking horse.
In days gone by I have driven and walked over this bridge without really taking in the engineering feat involved. Now, when I am on the bridge, I look up and see its massive structure, the cogs and pulleys and the immensity of the rolling mechanism.
I wanted my print to reflect the power and enormity of the human engineering involved and the feeling of enclosure and being within the bridge when crossing it.
Process
I used a thick piece of zinc to work on. I applied a hard ground as I wanted precision for the linear definitions of the bridge.
I used my etching needle to make marks in the ground, going over the thicker lines a few times to make impact. I drew Drypool Bridge in the background, which I etched in the nitric acid for a shorter time to get a fainter line for the distance.
I used the composition so that the rolling mechanism became a dominant feature.
Once etched, I took a proof print to check it out.
Proof print after etching
I then went on to apply an aquatint and to block out the lighter/darker areas to create tone (see below). The addition of the tone gave greater weight to the apparatus and atmosphere to the image as a whole
No comments:
Post a Comment