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A printmaker friend of mine recently described printmakers as introverts and painters as extroverts. Printmakers create pieces up close, often in grayscale and subtle differences in texture, while painters step back and use color and/or bold texture to express themselves. Interesting idea. I thought about it for a while and noticed that when I look at a print, I look closely and quietly. I have to search for minute detail and spend quite a while pondering the subject matter and the subtleties that different print methods create. While I might do the same with a painting, more often I stand back from a painting and let the color and texture speak to me from a distance. I guess I step back from a painting because I can. Most prints require you to look closer.

When people are just learning about fine prints, the most difficult part is usually determining what process the artist used to create the print. People are most often curious about whether a piece is an etching or an engraving. After a little bit of instruction, that distinction becomes relatively simple. However, there are many other printing methods that take a little more practice to identify, especially when a printmaker mixes a variety of methods in a single piece. In my studies of fine art prints, I have found it helpful and incredibly interesting to learn about different printing processes, the materials used and the intensive amount of work necessary to create piece that may only measure two by three inches. Remember from my previous column that a fine art print, by legal definition, must be hand-pulled by the artist and must be in an edition of no more than 200. Since each print is one of several, they are typically priced quite affordably even though they may be quite detailed and created by a well-known artist.

Prints fall, sometimes roughly, into four categories: intaglio, relief, planographic and stencil. For the sake of space, I will focus on some of the attributes that can help you identify and appreciate a couple types of prints within each category. I strongly encourage you to visit museums, art centers and galleries that carry prints and have experts who enjoy educating and “quizzing” you with actual examples in front of you. Use this column as a guide in those situations. That is really the most fun way to build your confidence and abilities with identifying each type of print in a short time. To get in touch with the actual processes of printing, the materials and tools used and a close look at the printing surfaces, arrange to visit the college! Once you see an etched copper or zinc plate compared to an engraved piece of wood, you will have no problems identifying those techniques in their printed form. Be careful though, as soon as you receive that invitation from a print to “look closer,” you might not be able step back! Recently, I had a conversation about a couple of prints and the next thing I knew I was thinking of ways to build up my print collection. I’m even taking a printmaking class this fall.

Etching, engraving, aquatint and mezzotint (my personal favorite) are a few of the processes included in the intaglio category. Intaglio prints are made by carving grooves and other textures to form an image, in reverse, on a copper or zinc plate. Imagine how much concentration and spatial skill is required to carve a detailed image in reverse! The image is created below the surface. Ink is forced into the grooves and remains there after the artist wipes the surface of the plate clean. Damp paper and the plate are run through a press (imagine an old clothes wringer). The paper is forced into the grooves where it not only picks up the ink but also the shape of the groove. You can tell the difference between a reproduction of a print and the real thing by looking for the indention of the plate around the edges of the image. Forgers have been known to manufacture these indentations but you shouldn’t run into any problems unless you are buying prints by famous artists such as Salvador Dali.

The carved lines of an engraving are quite crisp. Most everyone has owned an engraving at least once in their life…many of you hopefully have several in your wallet right now! Notice how clean the lines are on our money and you will always have a guide for a high quality engraving! Similar to an engraving, an etching has been carved into a plate. However, the lines on an etching are more rounded on the ends, maybe even fuzzy due to the application of acid to the finished plate. The longer the artist leaves the acid to “bite” the plate, the fuzzier the lines and even the uncarved surfaces become. Aquatints and mezzotints are two beautiful types of intaglio prints that have the potential for amazing contrast and deep, rich blacks. Of the two, mezzotint tends to have the deepest, most velvet-like black tones. In fact, for over two hundred years (until the invention of photography in the 1800’s), mezzotint was the only way to represent the myriad of tonal qualities present in the real world. A skilled mezzotint artist can create works that actually look like a photograph. Historically, it was used to reproduce oil painting in a cheaper print. Mezzotints are extremely arduous work; just preparing the plate for an image potentially takes hours upon hours. It has been said that M.C. Escher gave up mezzotint because it was too “difficult.”

Relief prints are another well-known print category including woodcuts, wood engravings and linoleum cut. Think of relief printing in opposite terms as intaglio printing. While ink sticks to the carved and textured parts of an intaglio print, the carved parts appear blank in relief print. Ink sticks to the remaining surface and is printed. Like intaglio prints, the image is also carved in reverse. (I have wasted many linoleum blocks by forgetting to plan my design with this little detail in mind!) Traditionally, the difference between a woodcut and a wood engraving are as follows: A wood cut is made from the plank grain side of wood using a knife and gouges and results in black figures on a white ground. A wood engraving is made from the end grain of the wood (you can sometimes see this texture in the print) using burins and gravers resulting in white lines on a black ground. Linoleum cut is made by carving into special linoleum using the woodblock process. The linoleum is soft but in my experience with the medium, the tools still slip sometimes leaving some painful cuts. Some wonderful woodcuts can be purchased in the Mexican and Japanese.

Lithographs (not to be confused with off-set lithographs which are photo-mechanical reproductions of originals) are fine prints in the planographic category. After grinding the stone to a clean surface, an artist will draw and image on a stone with a greased-based crayon or tusche, a grease-based liquid. The stone surface is then treated chemically with gum Arabic and nitric acid to make it more receptive to water. The stone is dampened with water. The grease-based image resists the water. When ink is rolled onto the stone, it will adhere to the image. Paper is pressed against the stone and picks up the ink. A color lithograph is achieved with separate stones for each color.

Common stencil prints are serigraphy (also known as silk screen). First, silk is stretched across a frame. A design is using a film that is affixed to the silk or by using one of a variety of resist methods. Paint is then forced through the open areas of the stencil with a squeegee and set aside to dry.

Prints are an affordable way to begin or add to your art collection. Grand Junction is home to some extremely talented printmakers. Take a little time studying prints in person (they just don’t translate as well in a book) before buying so that you can learn which medium and subject matter are your favorites. When I learned about mezzotint, my eye began to spot them all over the place and I before long, I was enamored. Now I will more or less focus my collecting of prints in that particular medium. Some clients of mine recently decided that they would begin collecting mezzotints that related to a theme such as sake cups or birds. Have fun and be creative with your collection!

Keesha Davis at Resonance Fine Art would love to help you learn about and purchase fine art prints. Give her a call at (970)241-0465 and visit www.resonancefineart.com for examples of a variety of printing techniques! Also, please write to resonancefineart@bresnan.net with your art questions and yours may appear in a column!