Printmaking: "The Buoy Shed" Prints

Printmaking: "The Buoy Shed" Prints

The Buoy Shed, watercolour monoprint overprinted with a dry point etching

Introduction

In an earlier post (18/05/20) I wrote about a group of warehouses along the River Hull which had inspired me to paint  large image of a section of the riverfront.

The architecture, which includes a number of intriguing doorways and elaborate decoration, sparked my imagination. Part of the group includes the old Trinity House Buoy Shed.  I decided that the Buoy Shed stood out as a unique, historic building which warranted its own image. I wanted to capture the essence of its former glory and thought that a print would enable me to capture the glamour of a distant age where expensive, flamboyant building styles and materials were used for fairly mundane buildings.

Trinity House Coat of Arms, facade, of "The Buoy Shed"

As I said in my earlier post, a coat of arms stands over one doorway and depicts an anchor (for a safe anchorage), three stars  (representing the Trinity) a helm with the Admiralty Oar ( representing nautical justice). The Latin motto "Spes Super Sydera)means 'Hope beyond the stars'. The building served as a buoy shed for Hull Trinity House, an ancient institution that from the mid-15th century was responsible for navigation buoys and lights on the Humber Estuary. It has more recently been a workshop for  a Northern Divers. The wooden staging posts below are still used for the tying up of vessels. At low tide the wooden posts are revealed along with the interesting shapes of the mud left behind by the receding tide.

Process

Dry Point Etching

I have seen the Buoy Shed in different weather conditions and lights. Earlier in the year, I went for a walk in January, when the weather was cold and dark. That was when I was first struck by the building's intriguing and impressive architecture. How could such an iconic building be left abandoned to the elements and the threat of vandals? I was moved to capture its commanding presence, and convey its faded, commanding glory.

I decided that a dark dry point etching would convey the mood. The process means that the ink picks up the burrs left by the etching tool and leaves behind a distinctive and characterful line. The technique also allows the printmaker to leave tone behind on the etching plate by the way the ink is wiped. This is the approach I took for my first set of prints (see below).

The Buoy Shed,  dry point etching

Water colour Monoprint, overprinted with dry point etching

I then went on to create a second type of image. During "lockdown" we had a period of hot, sunny weather. One of those days was the Bank Holiday for VE Day. It was weird, as everyone was still under strict lockdown rules, but you were allowed to travel a short distance in your vicinity for exercise. I decided to go for a walk along the River. For a Bank Holiday, it was very quiet and there was a strange atmosphere. The sun beamed down on the Old Buoy Shed which, probably due to the VE commemorations, gave rise to feelings of nostalgia. Consequently, I decided to capture that mood in a second, different, coloured print. 

The Buoy Shed, watercolour monoprint overprinted with a dry point etching

I made a watercolour monoprint of the same view (see above and top of page) and then over-printed it with a dry point etching. This is the third time I have recently used this process. It is a good way to add colour and atmosphere to a print. It is, however, a long, two-stage process. I have got better at it. I now ink up the dry point plate before making the watercolour monoprint. This is because to make the monoprint you have to use wet paper. By having the dry point already prepared it means that I do not have to re-wet the monoprint, and I can go straight to the over-printing process. I am also getting more accustomed to applying the watercolour to the perspex plate in a way which obtains the best results. I wanted this image to be subtle, to give a faded,  "olde worlde"  look. I therefore applied the paint quite thinly to achieve this effect.

Conclusions

Each print is very different. I think that I used the techniques in a way which successfully brings out the  qualities of both the winter and spring weather conditions, and the emotions which the sight elicited in me. I am also improving my technical skills in the two-stage monoprint/dry point process.