Before starting the drawing for this print I needed a good reference. This print is based upon my old Maine coon cat Finnegan. This may upset some readers, but as he had been dead for a couple of years, I personally felt ok in digging up his skull. Maine coons have particularly large and robust skulls so it was important to me to have an accurate reference. Here you can see me studying it and comparing it to that in the image. I used my vintage proportional dividers seen below to create an accurate measured drawing as reference.
Like most of my prints the first stage was to draw out the design in my sketchbook. Before transferring the design to the zinc plate however, I first had to prepare the plate. This involves filing down the edges, polishing, and de-greasing. A thin 'hard ground' is then applied. This protects the plate from the copper sulphate that is used to etch. I used Charbonnel liquid ground for this print. Once the ground is dry the image is transferred using white carbon paper. This acts as a guide for me to gently scratch the image into the ground, exposing the metal.
The following video demostrates the key stages of the etching process:
And here is the finished print. Printed onto Fabriano Rosaspina 285gsm acid free paper with Cranfield Caligo safe wash oil-based ink.
This is a limited edition of 25 prints.
Actual print size: 20 x 12.5cm
Paper size: 29.5 x 23cm
