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Victoria Elbroch: Process
Victoria specializes in the process of etching, sometimes also creating
pen & ink drawings, which are very similar in appearance. Painting
a copper or zinc plate with acid resistant asphaltum, then etching
the chosen design in a reversed mirror image, through the hardened
coating with a sharp stylus. The plate is then immersed in a bath
of appropriate acid, which eats into the exposed metal creating
tiny grooves. The coating is removed, the plate is inked and cleaned,
and the image is printed onto damp paper using an etching press.
Victoria then tints each individual print by hand, using watercolors,
giving them a distinctive and colorful flair. In some cases the
plate is taken to a second state and an aquatint ground is applied
to give the final print either a toned single-color appearance or,
if printed with colored inks, a more subtle hue than her water-colored
prints.
In 1998 she started to experiment with 4 plate monotype. She
registers a series of plexiglass plates over a drawing, painting
a different intense pigment on each. The plates are then dried
and printed in turn onto very wet paper. The paper is kept trapped
in the press and each plate is carefully registered. The effect
is luminous.
Applying ink to the plate |
Removing the plate from the acid bath |
Applying the asphaltum |
Peeling off the paper |
The printed etching |
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