An etching is a print created from a design made in metal (zinc or copper)

The artist coats the zinc plate with an acid-resisting liquid, and then draws the design on the plate with a sharp metal tool. This exposes some of the zinc, so that when the plate is immersed in an acid bath, the exposed lines are bitten or etched out. The depth of line is controlled by the length of time that the plate spends in the acid.

To print the etching, the plate is cleaned of its coating, then inked with a roller and wiped carefully, so that the ink remains in the recessed lines.

Wet 100% rag paper is placed on the plate, and the pressure of the hand rolled press, forces the ink in the lines onto the paper.

Etching is a fairly time-consuming process, and as each print is produced one at a time, the etchings can vary from one pull to the next. Etchings are therefore considered original works.

With the etchings that I do, I also like to hand-colour them. I feel that this adds to their uniqueness, as of course no two etchings are ever exactly alike.

Dorothy Renals

Below are links to some of Dorothy's Etchings