“Village Bridge” Etching

Intricate copper plate etching of a New England covered bridge in Autumn, framed. #119/200.

Frame with matting: 16″ x 12″

Printed Area: 9 1/2″ x 6 1/2″

“Are these pen and ink?”  Are these photographs?”  These are some of the questions we often hear in the gallery about his work. The process for these prints is actually quite involved.

Bruce begins with a copper plate, coating it with a tar-like medium called ground, which acts as a resist.  He then draws the intricate image by scratching through this resist with various tools, exposing copper lines.  The plate is then submerged in an acid bath that etches into the exposed lines.  The copper plate is then cleaned and inked with an oil-based black ink, so that the ink fills only the etched lines.

Archival grade paper is soaked in water, so that the pulp of the paper fluffs up to receive the ink.  The damp, softened paper and inked plate are then rolled through a hand cranked printing press together.  The soft paper presses down into the grooved lines of the plate, picking up the ink.  When dry, one can gently touch the paper and actually feel the raised lines of the ink from this process.  You can also see the edges of the copper plate, embossed in the paper surrounding the print itself.

When the black and white image is dry, Bruce then brings it to life with watercolors.  Each print is hand painted, making each one unique, and he can create summer or fall scenes from the same print just by adjusting the colors. In this way, each print is an original painting, as well as one of a limited edition print.

Please call the Littleton Gallery at 603-444-1099 with any questions before ordering.
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