Cloud Buster

2018
H 30 cm x W 20 cm x D 1 cm
Aquatint
Limited edition, Unframed
Signed

The work ‚Cloud Buster‘ is a nice example of various etching techniques including aquatint, stop out and drypoint. The black shape that rises from the lower left to the upper right corner is a little ash twig of an etching plate that was cut up to create accidental details. So the twig is made with a rosin dust that was burnt in and then etched in the shape of the twig.

In a second run, a hard ground was laid over the plate and the scribble-like lines were drawn, watching clouds pass by the artist’s studio. If you take a closer look you can tell the different thicknesses of lines. This was done by etching in several steps. You draw on the copperplate by using a steel needle, then place the plate in the acid and etch, then you take it out, watch the cloud, continue to draw, then place it back in the acid, take it out, draw, put it back.

So those lines that spent most time in the acid, where bitten deeper and thus carry more color in the printing process and appear darker in the print. The artist states, ‚The clouds of the past summer fascinated me a lot. They came along so pompous and bold and lost shape and contour so fast.‘