Aquatint prints are original art prints similar to water colours.

Aquatint prints are art prints made through an ancient intaglio technique. Aquatint is a variant of etching.

Like etching, aquatint technique involves the application of acid to make marks on a metal plate. But where in the etching the artist uses a needle, in the aquatint he sprinkles a powdered rosin, colophony, which is acid resistant, to create tonal effects.

In etching aquatint the artist can use a zinc or copper plate.

First I begin by putting powdered rosin in a piece of cloth that I close with a string forming a little bag. Then I shake it lightly over the plate to make the powder fall, trying to distribute it evenly all over the surface.

I then heat the plate melting the powder, forming a fine and even coat.

I cover the areas I want to keep totally white - such as highlights - with an acid-resistant varnish. I have to plan carefully the full work from light to dark because it can become difficult to work when large areas are covered with varnish.

Now I dip the plate in acid producing corrosion that holds ink, but I keep the plate in acid for a very short period of time - from a few seconds to 1 minute. A test may be made with etching times noted because even a few seconds can vary the depth of the biting. Of course the more the plate is in the acid the darker the area will be.

Before immersing the plate in the acid bath, I cover its back completely with scotch tape to protect it from the biting.

I progressively protect any areas that have achieved the right tonality and immerse the plate again in acid for the darker areas.

I repeat this procedure until I reach the result I desire.

After printing the aquatint etchings, if I find that an area is too dark, I can use a burnisher to smooth the aquatint texture. I move it on the area I want lighter, this lowers the texture that retains less ink producing lighter marks.

The plate, like for the etching, is then put through a printing press with a damp sheet of paper, the pressure will transfer the image from the plate to the paper.

Now the aquatint prints are ready to be signed and numbered with a pencil.

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