Sondra Freckleton's Lithographs

I am not going to try to recount how Alois Senefelder came to be recognized as the crucial player in the development of lithographic printing. However, I think it would be useful to say that lithographic printing depends upon the principal that oil and water don't mix. Trying to say it simply, the artist first draws with greasy crayons or tusche, traditionally on the surface of a grained limestone.  A solution of gum arabic and mild nitric acid is poured over the stone to establish two distinct areas in which the greasy drawing areas will attract ink and the non-greasy areas will support a film of water that will repel ink. The trick for the printer is to keep these two areas distinct while alternately sponging with water and rolling with greasy ink before an impression is pulled at the press.

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 the print.