Printmaking: Etching, hand coloured with soft Pastel

 Printmaking: Etching, hand coloured with soft Pastel Etching 

"The Old Ways", etching and aquatint with soft pastel

M.V. "Irene" loading 10,000 tons of sugar for Algeria. Queen Elizabeth Dock, Hull, September, 1972. Photographer - unknown.

I was inspired to make an etching using a photograph of men loading sugar, taken in 1972.

I liked the shapes of the sacks, the taught ropes and the struggle of the men as they man-handled the load. The light was interesting as the men worked in the murky darkness

I etched the print on aluminium and it created a pitted surface. Thinking about frottage, I thought that if I added soft pastel I could use the surface texture to add atmosphere.

I chose yellows and oranges for the areas where the light was seeping through, emphasised the dark tones around the sacks and added red and blue in the foreground for the detail of the figures.

Outcome

I was disappointed with the etching in its original state as it was very pitted. However, the addition of soft pastel not only added colour, but also texture to the print. In the end the print had a successful outcome, the process used adds to the nostalgia and I feel that the image has a lot of character.