Blog post: 15 August 2024

Dumfries House through the trees

29th July - 8th August 2024, Dumfries House, Scotland.

In July 2024, I had a fabulous opportunity to join alumni from the Royal Drawing School on a print residency at Dumfries House. This was to include precious time in the print room, an opportunity to draw en plein air on a stunning estate of 2,000 acres and as an Artist in Residence in the 18th-century house.

For my etching activities, I decided to experiment with the sugar lift etching technique, using zinc and aluminium test plates. After degreasing the plates, I chose a worn bristle brush to draw onto them directly with a sugar syrup mixture and using my sketchbook drawings as a basis for mark making. Once the plates were dry, they were coated with straw hat varnish so that when boiling water was poured over the plates the bare metal was left exposed where the syrup had been. The aluminium plate could then be dipped into the mordant directly, as the aluminium has a textured finish when etched, whilst the zinc plate needed to be aquatinted before etching. With so many processes to work through it was good to have the collagraphs to work on at the same time.

Etching tests on zinc and aluminium plates

On the left the aluminium plate and on the right the zinc plate that had two layers of sugar lift applied to it.

It was truly a dream to experience the comprehensive and amazingly well kept printing facilities and also to learn a new etching technique in the few days I was there.

On the last day in the print room, I also wanted to bring together learnings from a recent 'Ways with Softground' course at East London Printmakers. Using an aluminium plate (favouring the organic marks that the sugar lift had made on this metal) I first made a soft ground etching as a first layer (to act as a background) and then applied a sugar lift layer for the tree branches that almost obscure the iconic building. The final etching, Dumfries House 'through the trees' is very much reflective of the experiments I was making in the print room and I have left it as my donation to the King's Foundation.

More about the residency 1 ‎| 2 ‎ | 3 ‎ | 4 ‎|

Working on the Harry Rochat press in the print room at Dumfries House.