Mezzotint Prints

In 2024 Marie attended a Mezzotint course at Green Door print studio run by Stuart Brocklehurst. She found the challenge of designing an image and then achieving soft graduations of tone by smoothing a "Rocked" plate fascinating. A mezzotint copper plate is one which has been evenly indented  across its surface by a rocker tool. When inked this surface prints with a dark tone, smooting the surface by scraping and burnishing produces lighter tones.

Work in progress

The picture below is of a kiten in a basket, the image which Marie is currently working on. The photo shows the mezzotint plate and the first image printed. This print indicates which areas need to be made lighter by more smoothing.  Of course the task of inking the plate and then wiping off the excess ink, before printing onto dampened paper, also affects the tonal range.

In Progress, Kitten in Basket

Completed prints

Completed prints are shown below and a picture of a finished mezzotint plate is included for the Catty print. Please click on the images to enlarge.