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AnCatDubh — Ophelia
Published: 2011-02-28 13:59:16 +0000 UTC; Views: 3237; Favourites: 128; Downloads: 28
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Description
mezzotintmy take on Shakespeare I guess? And yes, pre raphaelites are never very far.
many thanks to *blackdidthis for all his advice on the technique. I'm still a beginner but I love it.
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Comments: 49
This looks so realistic and poignant. Very impressive work and talent you got.
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Beautiful does not even start to describe this piece. Congratulations!
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I featured your beautiful work in my journal! [link]
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Very beautiful work! I like the darkness in it and beautiful attention to detail!
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That technique sounds amazing and love the result!
I only printed 2 pieces so far, but I'm really BURNING for more
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hello do you have any of these to sell and if so any idea of the price thanks
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Yup, these guys go for 90 euros, the size of the print is 15x20cm.
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that's an interesting take, I hadn't thought about it!
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Wow...this is so beautiful and painterly...I really get the sense that she is floating in water. And for me, her skirt is a symbol of her slavery to her sorrow...
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This is amazing! How big is it? And how long did it take?
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it's not very big actually, 15x20cm, and as far as time, I'd say it took me about 6-7 hours to rock the plate (NOT in one go! also my tool wasn't well sharpened so I've had trouble printing), and 50 hours ish on the plate itself. So, a long time!
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Nice work! I bet it looks even better on paper - there's nothing like those velvety blacks you get with mezzotint.
c.
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thank you! Yes there is this feel about it that you can't really get in another way.
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I've never done a mezzotint... but I admire the technique very much. and yours is fabulous!!!
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thank you very much! you should give it a go one day (when you have lots of time 
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Our prof was saying that plate rocking aspect is rediculously long. How long abouts?
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This one about 6-7 hours for 15x20cm. I'd like to do a 30x40cm one but my wrist hurts just thinking about the amount of rocking needed...
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Are there pre-rocked plates available anywhere?
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yes there are, but they are very expensive. here the sizes are in mm : [link] - I don't know about the states, but I assume the prices would be similar.
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Awww, I love this sooo much... i`t looks like a very interesting and HARD tecnique, and you certainly chose a good subject. Pre-raphaelite art, Shakespeare and Lilies... I personally love it...
I have a lot questions about this tecnique, but actually feel very stupid if I ask them now... I should study, then ask you if I don`t undestand...
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printmaking is a whole world in itself and there is so much in it. Feel free to ask me questions as I said in the note 
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I love Chinese and Japanese art, so well, I know a little about it, and I`ve seen Goyas prints and the process of making them. Is it very different??? It honestly looks expensive... and I have no idea what material you used here... to make this print... the metal...
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Mh, I think Goya did etchings mainly? Etching are acid-based prints, and I've never done it myself. This one doesn't need acid, so it's easier in that sense.
Mezzotint is expensive at first because the rocker (the tool you use to make all the dots in the metal to get the black background) is expensive (150euros or something). Then, the plates are generally copper. A small plate is cheap, 5 euros or something, but if you want a big plate it's expensive. This 15x20 one would be maybe 6-7 euros. And you can print several dozen prints with a single copper plate. You can use zinc which is quite a bit cheaper, but it's not as solid.
The expensive thing would be buying a press but I use the one that's at the museum where I take my evening classes. So in the end printmaking to me is much cheaper than oil painting
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What classes are you taking? And thank you for explaining this to me. I had no idea!
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We learned it different at school:
for the little dots in the plate, we cover the plate with varnish with airbrush (or a spray can) so the accid can corrode between the dots where is no varnish. The rest of the proces is probably the same
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Yes, that's more like etching. It has a slightly different look but you can get similar tones. I've never done acid based printing myself, hopefully one day
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yes, more like an aquatint. But taking away parts to reveal the white like in a mezzotint
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This is just exquisite! I already loved Shakespeare and the pre-Raphaelites, and now I love mezzotint!
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Ahhh, mezzotint! I love it! This is so dark and heavy and gorgeous.
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Absolutely gorgeous! I've not heard of Dry Point. How is this technique executed?
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Glad you like it Samantha
dry point is one of the most straightfoward forms on intaglio, which is a printmaking technique that doesn't require acid or anything. You take a metal plate, a metal point that you use as a sort of pen, and just trace lines on the plate with it. Then you ink it, wipe it so the ink only stays in the hollow lines you have traced, put it under the press and tadah! you have a drawing
this however is a particular type of intaglio, but there is no category for it on DA. It's called mezzotint. Basically you have a special tool you use to make thousands of tiny dots on your metal plate. All these dots will retain ink, so if you ink it and wipe it you will have a full black image. But if you use a scraper tool and a burnisher, you can flatten some areas of the plate (the dots won't be as deep anymore), and the more you do it, the lighter the area becomes. You draw white on black. If you're interested in knowing more here is a more thorough, though accessible, explanation : [link]
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Wow, thanks for the explanation. It sounds very time consuming! I am even more amazed by this than I already was!
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