Richard Hull at Manneken Press
Richard Hull is hard at work this week on two etchings and several monotypes. The etchings are monochromatic and complex, printed from single copper plates. We covered the copper plates in an acid-resistant ground and delivered the them to Richard Hull’s Chicago studio. There, he drew through the resist using a stylus to create a dense and detailed line drawing. Hull arrived at Manneken Press with the plates and we etched them in ferric chloride. Looking at the early state proofs Hull determined that additional lines were needed, so the process of grounding, drawing and etching was repeated. Subsequent applications of rosin aquatint will be added and step-bitten to create fields of tone in the printed image. This is etching in it’s most basic and graphically powerful form. It is essentially the same technique used by Rembrandt, and Hull’s strengths as a draftsman are on full display here.
Hull is drawing with water soluble crayons to create the images for his monotypes. Using this approach he is able to build up thick layers of material and scrape it away with a blade to reveal underlying colors. The drawing is made directly on a rigid, white PVC plate which is printed onto damp paper under considerable pressure. Moisture in the paper reactivates the water soluble crayon, and the image transfers to the paper under the pressure of the press. The monotypes are printed on cream Somerset Velvet paper. Read the prospectus for this project here.
