Jack Beal, Chicken House
Medium: Intaglio print: soft ground, line etching and aquatint
Initial proofing: 1982, by Jennifer Melby
Edition pulled: 2004, by Roger Bailey
Ink and paper type: Renaissance black ink on Hahnemuhle bright white
Edition size: 40
Signed: in pencil, lower right
Image Size: 11.25" x 13.5"
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Jack says he never kept chickens in the Chicken House. This is an excellent example of Jack's use of soft ground etching during the early stages of developing the plate. The image also demonstrates his strong interest in finding patches of light he can use to break out of the darkness. Jack has used the burnisher to pull out some of the flower forms in the foreground.
A Closer Look at ... Chicken House
A photograph of the structure on the Beal/Freckelton property known as the Chicken House.
A proof from the first state shows an embossed plate mark at the top of the image. The copper plate was larger than Jack's drawing and would be cut down later.
The dark material on this plate is a stop-out ground that prevents acid from biting certain areas of the plate.
This plate like several others in the "Experimental Suite" was steel faced to create a surface that is much harder than the copper material alone.
This detail from the upper right corner of the print shows Jack's use of soft ground, aquatint and line etching.
Jack signs the edition, April 28, 2005.
Jack's signature, lower right.