Part 7 (2/2)

All this goes to show you that there is ample liberty of choice as to processes in etching. It is well to try them all, as it is well to try every thing that may give new and unknown results, may inspire ideas, or may lead to progress, neither of which is likely to happen in the pursuit of mere routine work.

CHAPTER VII.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND AUXILIARY PROCESSES.--ZINK AND STEEL PLATES.--VARIOUS THEORIES.

A. RECOMMENDATIONS AND AUXILIARY PROCESSES.

73. =The Roulette.=--The lat.i.tude which I gave you does not extend to the point of approving of all material resources without any exception.

There is one which I shall not permit you to make use of, as the needle has enough resources of its own to be able to do without it. I allude to the _roulette_, which finds its natural application in other species of engraving.

74. =The Flat Point.=--Employ the _flat point_ with judgment; it takes up a great deal of varnish, but gives lines of little depth, and of less strength than those which can be obtained by prolonged biting, with an ordinary needle.

75. =The Graver or Burin.=--”And the graver: what do you say to that?”

The graver is the customary and fundamental tool of what is properly called ”line-engraving.” Although it is not absolutely necessary in the species of etching which we are studying, there are cases, nevertheless, in which it can be used to advantage, but always as an auxiliary only.

If, for instance, you desire to give force to a deeply bitten but grayish and dull pa.s.sage, or to a flat tint which looks monotonous, a few resolute and irregular touches with the graver will do wonders, and will add warmth and color. A few isolated lines with the graver give freshness to a muddy, broken, or foxy tint, without increasing its value.

The graver may also be employed in patching deeply bitten pa.s.sages.

The graver, of a rectangular form, with an angular cutting edge, is applied almost horizontally on the bare copper; its handle, rounded above, flat below, is held in the palm of the hand; the index finger presses on the steel bar; it is pushed forward, and easily enters the metal: the degree of pressure applied, and the angle which it makes with the plate, produces the difference in the engraved lines. The color obtained by the burin is deeper than that obtained by biting, as it cuts more deeply into the copper. If extensively used in an etching, the work executed by the graver contrasts rather unpleasantly with the quality of the etched work, as its lines are extremely clear cut. To get rid of this inequality, it is sufficient to rebite the pa.s.sages in question very slightly, which gives to the burin-lines the appearance of etched lines.

In short: use the graver with great circ.u.mspection, as its application to works of the needle is a very delicate matter, and gives to an etching a character different from that which we are striving for. It seems to me that to employ it on a free etching, done on the spur of the moment, would be like throwing a phrase from Bossuet into the midst of a lively conversation.[17]

76. =Sandpaper.=--As regards other mechanical means, be distrustful of tints obtained by rubbing the copper with sandpaper; these tints generally show in the proof as muddy spots, and are wanting in freshness. Avoid the process, because of its difficulty of application.

Only a very skilful engraver can put it to good uses.

77. =Sulphur Tints.=--I shall be less afraid to see you make use of _flowers of sulphur_ for the purpose of harmonizing or increasing the weight of a tint. The sulphur is mixed with oil, so as to form a h.o.m.ogeneous paste thick enough to be laid on with a brush.

By the action of these two substances the polish on the plate is destroyed, and the result in printing is a fresh and soft tint, which blends agreeably with the work of the needle.

Differences in value are easily obtained by allowing the sulphur to remain on the plate for a greater or less period of time. This species of biting acts more readily in hot weather; a few minutes are sufficient to produce a firm tint. In cold weather relatively more time is needed.

The corrosions produced in this way have quite a dark appearance on the plate, but they produce much lighter tints in printing. If you are not satisfied with the result obtained, you can rub it out with charcoal, as the copper is corroded only quite superficially.

Owing to this extreme slightness of biting, the burnisher may also be used to reduce any parts which are to stand out white.

This process, as you see, is very accommodating; but it is too much like mezzotint or aquatint, and, furthermore, it can only be applied in flat tints, without modelling. I have, nevertheless, explained it to you, so that you may be able to use it, if you should have a notion to do so, as a matter of curiosity, but with reserve. It is better to use the dry point, which has more affinity to the processes natural to etching.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate V.]

78. =Mottled Tints.=--You may also make use of the following process (but with the same restrictions) in the representation of parts of old walls, of rocks and earth, or of pa.s.sages to which you desire to impart the character of a sort of artistic disorder:--Distribute a quant.i.ty of ordinary etching-ground on a copper plate sufficiently heated; then take your dabber, and, having charged it unequally with varnish, and having also heated your etched plate, press the dabber on the pa.s.sages which are to receive the tint; the varnish adheres to the plate in an irregular manner, leaving the copper bare here and there. Now stop out with the brush those parts which you desire to protect, and bite in with pure acid; the result will be a curiously mottled irregular tint (see Pl. V. Fig. 2). Properly used in the representation of subjects on which you are at liberty to exercise your fancy, this process will give you unexpected and often happy results.

79. =Stopping-out before all Biting.=--Before we proceed, I must show you an easy method of representing a thunder-storm (see Pl. V. Fig.

2):--Work the sky with the needle, very closely, so as to get the sombre tints of the clouds; and, before biting, trace the streaks of lightning on the etched work with a brush and stopping-out varnish; being thus protected against the acid, these streaks will show white in the printing, and the effect will be neater and more natural than if you had attempted to obtain it by the needle itself, as you will avoid the somewhat hard outlines on either side of the lightning, which would otherwise have been necessary to indicate it.

You can employ the same process for effects of moonlight, for reflected lights on water, and, in fact, for all light lines which it is difficult to pick out on a dark ground.

<script>