This is a dry point etching done on a sheet of lexan. The main image of the leopard was based on a photo I found on unsplash.com, the I added the
background folliage. There is another print here of just the leopard. To create this print. I inked the plate, and then printed it onto a 8x10 sheet of linoleum.
Then I cutaway the leopard and the little section of visible sky from the lino sheet. On the remaining lino sheet I added the colors for the log and folliage. Then I printed/transferred the colors back onto the inked plate. Then printed that colored/inked plate as nornal onto a piece of paper. After the print drier, using some very diluted tempura paint, I colored in the sky on the finished print.
In a dry point etch, a very pointy and sharp needle is used to scratch into the lexan, which was placed onto of the image I created in photoshop. When incising a line into the lexan, a small burr or rough edge is left along the edge of the line. To make the print, the entire plate is inked, then the excessed ink is wipe away, leaving ink in the incised lines, and that captured in the burr. It is the ink captured in the burr that give the image the deeper tonal qualities. Unfortunately, the number of prints that can be made is limited. With each inking and wiping, some of the burr is removed. So from time to time, the plate needs to be re-scratched, but this obviously cannot be done indefinitely.
In a block print, the part of the image that is cut-away is not printed. Using a brayer, a smaller rubber roller, ink that has been spread on sheet of glass is transferred to the roller, which is then transfered to the surface of the linoleum. Once a sufficient amount of ink has been rolled onto the plate, the inked dry point plate is placed on top. Since the dry point was done on a sheet of plexiglass, it made the registration of the two plate easy, The two plates were run through a press, with sufficient pressure to transfer the image to the etch plate.
This image shows the 2 colors rolled onto the leopard lino block
This image shows the leopard etched plate inked
This image shows the Leopard etched plate onto of the leopard inked linoleum block
This image shows the leopard etched plate inked with both the black leopard and background colors transferred from the block
