Jack Beal's Etchings

Technically speaking, this page should be titled Jack Beal's Intaglio Prints. Intaglio refers to printmaking techniques in which recessed lines are made in a plate, those recessions are filled with ink and paper is pressed into the inked plate. Jack's work below includes one intaglio technique that is a drypoint. In Self-Portrait, Brooding, the image was made with a very sharp steel needle scratching directly into the copper plate. All ten of the other intaglio prints shown here are etchings. In the etching process a metal plate is first covered with an acid-resistant ground and the artist draws through the ground with a tool to expose the metal. The plate is then bitten in an acid bath to create the recessed lines that can be inked and printed. Other etching methods include soft ground and aquatint techniques.

Note: The thumbnail images below have been cropped for this index page and are not all presented in the same scale. You may select any of the images below to see the full print, printing data and information about the making of this print.