Copper Etching
After cutting my copper pieces to size I covered the surface with a liquid hard ground and scratched the desired image into the surface. Once the drawing was complete I submerged the plate in acid to create the etched surface.
Once my plates were prepared I could ink and print them. I created simple black prints with the first design. After a few editions I covered part of the design with hard ground and sprayed the surface of the plate with heat resistant spray paint. After dropping it into the acid bath again, the background of the design could be printed darker.
With the next design I experimented with color and applied multiple inks to the surface of the plate before printing the image. I decided to add a black outline, drawn in with a micron pen, for the finale design.
Inspiration and Source
Italian poster artist Leonetto Cappiello created these works while he lived in France in the early 1900s. He designed many posters in this bold and colorful style. I was inspired by the movement in his pieces and how the figures are accented by flowing cloth.
Leonetto Cappiello, Asti Cinzano, 1910
Leonetto Cappiello, Un Fornier, 1921