Small gears: study for a larger etching

I took a one-day ImagOn non-toxic printmaking workshop at The Drawing Studio about a month ago and started a small (4x5") copper intaglio plate. ImagOn is a photopolymer film you can apply to many substrates, including copper, zinc, and PETG plastic plates. You apply the film, expose it to a UV source, and develop in soda ash. After that, you can do all kinds of different techniques.

It's very versatile, and can be a springboard for more traditional techniques as well as some new ones. The film makes an incredible stop-out and can even be difficult to remove. I did not use it for photo etching but to apply an stencil-like image.

I did eleven different states, including a sugarlift aquatint, lots of burnishing, and line etching.

ImageOn Ultra film (blue) on the plate, after exposure & development

Proof of the 1st state, after I applied a spray acrylic aquatint

3rd state, after the sugar lift aquatint was applied

5th state, after burnishing

8th states, after I have added etched lines

Final proof, using a dark brown in on Hahnemuhle copperplate paper

One nice feature of ImagOn film is the fine detail you can get. The tiny teeth on the gear image would have been very difficult to create by just painting a ground on the plate and applying an aquatint. The little print came out pretty well and I'm happy with it. I have decided it's a study for a new larger plate; one I started last week.

Here is the first state of the new plate, 10x10" copper. First technique was a spray aquatint. I will be working on this plate for the next few weeks, and will show the latest updates as I progress!

large gears plate first proof after initial aquatint

Check back for my progress on the large gear plate soon!