By Emily York
with appendices by Kathan Brown and Catherine Brooks.
Magical Secrets are quickly grasped. They open doors to fresh ways of seeing and understanding. Artists use aquatint, a form of etching, to create delicate washes, velvety blacks, and intricate layers of color impossible in other art media. In this book, the third in the Magical Secrets series about etchings, Emily York discusses 46 aquatints by 32 artists, with special attention to fascinating sequential works by Richard Diebenkorn and Al Held. Emily York is a master printer at Crown Point Press, a publishing workshop where artists have been creating etchings since 1962. She ties process directly to art, and with clear writing and abundant illustrations explains the aquatint processes of spit bite, sugar lift, soap ground, and water bite. She also details steel-facing and multiple-plate printing, and gives step-by-step instructions for making you own aquatints.
The book has two appendices: Printing the Crown Point Way by Kathan Brown and Using Acid to Bite Plates by Catherine Brooks. Anyone who cares about art will enjoy this book, and anyone who makes etchings will find it indispensible. The included DVD demonstrates the processes, and the accompanying website provides ongoing information about printmaking.
The Magical Secrets about Aquatint from the book:
- Be conscious of the density of the ground
- Make velvety blacks, clean edges, and controlled tones
- Create texture by using an imperfect ground
- Use a brush for boldness and fluidity
- Paint with acid for delicate washes and shifting tones
- Try other angles for particular effects
- Use aquatint processes without using aquatint
- Create clear colors and layered complexity
Pre-Order the book now in our online store.
