Legends of Lithography 2 coming soon...
'From Tusche to Toulouse'
25th October 2014
After all the evolutionary data, Professor Brian Cox aka Phil Bowden began our instruction into the chemical processes which Litho entails; the Gum Arabic application to 'stop out' marks, then drawing onto the surface of the desensitised plate with your choice of greasy nubs or nibs.
The image created which can be drawn directly onto the plate or traced on via transfer paper coated with ferric oxide. The plate is then 'gum etched' and different levels of phosphoric acid to higher ratio of gum makes the image appear 'more' as you intend. The term 'tusche wash' reminiscent of a very private bathroom activity, allows for soft tonal blends to graduate over certain areas of your design giving a softer and more painterly feel.
I think the more 'familiar' way my image looked and actually felt after transferring my design onto the hard metal surface (like traditional drawing) made this process much more satisfying and overall made for a more successful final outcome in my eyes. I was pleased with my results, rather than the inadequate scrapings I achieved with etching.
Once the plates had been talcum powdered, re-gummed 'puddled in' and inked up, the final stage - rolling out my first litho print- was a mini revelation (think finding a pound coin down the side of your sofa when you first thought it was a button)!
It is amazing that I can reproduce many 'fresh' looking images from one inked up plate with no loss of detail or crispness of line. I think the textured marks and vibrancy of colour that this process allows is inspirational and more akin to silkscreen. I love the work of Toulouse-Lautrec, particularly his images of Jane Avril the good time girl who did not have it so good. The brightness and clarity of this work is still strong and 'fresh' even after over a century. The romance evoked in some of Toulouse-Lautrec's graphic posters using this process spills over into the quintessentially British imagery by the doomed artist and war hero Eric Ravilious.
Constructivism, Futurism and the art of the War posters have their place here.
Imagine it, this is the concept of 'giving life' to a tangible creative reproduction. The Ascent of Man it's not, but that doesn't diminish this process any less.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2014/oct/14/brian-coxs-human-universe-presents-a-fatally-flawed-view-of-evolution
For me, the soundtrack to this process and the solidity and sense of 'forever-ness' these images produced, I was reminded of the lines from the song 'Photograph, by Ed Sheeran;
'...We made these memories for ourselves,
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts are never broken
And time's forever frozen still'.
https://www.youtube.com/user/EdSheeran
Talkin' bout a Revolution not Evolution.. Eat your heart out Jacob Bronowski.
After all the evolutionary data, Professor Brian Cox aka Phil Bowden began our instruction into the chemical processes which Litho entails; the Gum Arabic application to 'stop out' marks, then drawing onto the surface of the desensitised plate with your choice of greasy nubs or nibs.
The image created which can be drawn directly onto the plate or traced on via transfer paper coated with ferric oxide. The plate is then 'gum etched' and different levels of phosphoric acid to higher ratio of gum makes the image appear 'more' as you intend. The term 'tusche wash' reminiscent of a very private bathroom activity, allows for soft tonal blends to graduate over certain areas of your design giving a softer and more painterly feel.I think the more 'familiar' way my image looked and actually felt after transferring my design onto the hard metal surface (like traditional drawing) made this process much more satisfying and overall made for a more successful final outcome in my eyes. I was pleased with my results, rather than the inadequate scrapings I achieved with etching. Once the plates had been talcum powdered, re-gummed 'puddled in' and inked up, the final stage - rolling out my first litho print- was a mini revelation (think finding a pound coin down the side of your sofa when you first thought it was a button)! It is amazing that I can reproduce many 'fresh' looking images from one inked up plate with no loss of detail or crispness of line. I think the textured marks and vibrancy of colour that this process allows is inspirational and more akin to silkscreen. I love the work of Toulouse-Lautrec, particularly his images of Jane Avril the good time girl who did not have it so good. The brightness and clarity of this work is still strong and 'fresh' even after over a century. The romance evoked in some of Toulouse-Lautrec's graphic posters using this process spills over into the quintessentially British imagery by the doomed artist and war hero Eric Ravilious.
Constructivism, Futurism and the art of the War posters have their place here.
Imagine it, this is the concept of 'giving life' to a tangible creative reproduction. The Ascent of Man it's not, but that doesn't diminish this process any less.http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2014/oct/14/brian-coxs-human-universe-presents-a-fatally-flawed-view-of-evolution
For me, the soundtrack to this process and the solidity and sense of 'forever-ness' these images produced, I was reminded of the lines from the song 'Photograph, by Ed Sheeran;
'...We made these memories for ourselves,
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts are never broken
And time's forever frozen still'.
https://www.youtube.com/user/EdSheeran
Talkin' bout a Revolution not Evolution.. Eat your heart out Jacob Bronowski.
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