@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar

bbecquet

@[email protected]

French amateur printmaker - intaglio, monotype, linocut.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar bbecquet , to random

Also, while I'm at the workshop, I did some new prints of an old favorite, as someone at work asked for one.

Feel free to contact me if you're interested too by this one (50€) or another. (Sorry, I still don't have a proper web shop…)

Photo of the inked mezzotint plate hold in hand.

Photo of the inked mezzotint plate hold in hand.
ALT
@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar bbecquet , to random

WIP, live from the workshop :)

Testing for the first time a two-color print on my in-progress Sarracenia pitcher plant mezzotint. I don't have the exact final green with me, but it's close enough. I was mostly interested in testing the blending between them, and how the red would fare as it's a color that often shifts on copper. And indeed it's a bit dull, I'll have to try some tricks.

But overall I'm very happy with it! The engraving itself needs more work, to better define details, increase some local contrast, and finish cleaning the remaining parts of the halo. But it's nearly there ^^

Photo of the inking process, showing the copper plate on a newspaper, two colors of ink spreads, and some tools.
Photo of the clean copper plate, showing the picture of the plant engraved on it.

Photo of the clean copper plate, showing the picture of the plant engraved on it.
ALT
bbecquet OP ,
@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar

Thanks a lot!

@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar bbecquet , to random

I started working on a new mezzotint. I'm going experimental with this one, and when it's finished I plan to print it in two colors inked simultaneously. We'll see if it works 🤞

Copper plate with a picture of a sarracenia (a pitcher plant) partially engraved with the mezzotint technique.
ALT
bbecquet OP ,
@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar

Thanks! Yes I use a rocker to prepare my plates manually. By the way this one is the first where I didn't roughen the whole surface, just the drawn part, so it was really quick. But I don't find the rocking process painful in any case.
That said, I should try some ready burred plates once, out of curiosity.

@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar bbecquet , to random

The stile. Etching, 20 x 30 cm.

A beautiful wood engraving by @JohnAltringham featuring one reminded me how much I love stiles, these structures built in walls and fences to only let humans pass. So I made an etching.

Stiles are very uncommon in France, they are forever linked for me to dear memories of hiking in the British countryside. Crossing one is always a happy micro-event in itself, reminding us how great it is to be able to roam around. And also, how elegant some devices can be in their simplicity.

Black ink print of an etching, showing a British-ish countryside landscape, with a rocky hill in the distance, a field in the middle, and, taking two thirds of the picture, a stone wall with a stile in it.
ALT
@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar bbecquet , to random

I haven't posted monotypes for a while, so here is one, plus a phantom print that turned out IMO as great as the first print.

This image is inspired by dear memories of seeing the shipwreck that lies on the coast of Inisheer, the smallest of the Aran Islands, but I voluntarily didn't look at any ref or at my old photos, so it's probably not so close to the real stuff.

Still on the faithful 30 x 17 cm copper plate I used for nearly all of them.

"Phantom" (second) print of the same monotype, the image is mostly the same but lighter, with gray replacing black surfaces and more visible textures.

"Phantom" (second) print of the same monotype, the image is mostly the same but lighter, with gray replacing black surfaces and more visible textures.
ALT
@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar bbecquet , to random

Here it is, fresh from the press, the first test print! Not wiped clean enough on the left and showing some nasty scratches that appeared probably during varnish removal, but still I'm very happy with the result!

Now I have to decide: should I stop here, and if not, what should I do? :)

Photo of the plate during the inking process, showing the lines appearing clearly in black on the copper surface.
ALT
@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar bbecquet , to random

It's been a while since I haven't posted here!

So, here are two steps of an ongoing etching, showing the plate protected in varnish and the drawing on it to expose the copper.

Between the two steps I have bathed the plate in acid and covered some more areas before another bath, to establish depth difference between lines.

The plate is currently in the acid bath, hopefully I'll be able to do a first print in one hour or so!

Same plate, where less of the drawing is apparent as more areas have been covered by ground.

Same plate, where less of the drawing is apparent as more areas have been covered by ground.
ALT
@Ecoloki@pixelfed.fr avatar Ecoloki , to random

Panique sur l'étang ! Le pygargue chasse !

Depuis quelques années, un couple de pygargues s'est installé en Sologne, dans la région où je fais pas mal d'observations nature.
Même s'il est difficile de savoir où se trouvera ce rapace (le plus rare de France métropolitaine), c'est plutôt simple de se rendre compte de sa présence : quand il arrive au dessus d'un étang, il fait fuir pratiquement tous les oiseaux ! Un grand bruissement d'ailes accueille celui qui est très silencieux.

(Pygargue à queue blanche, Loir-et-cher, Fr, 10/25)

Un pygargue à queue blanche (grand aigle marron avec un bec crochu jaune et imposant et un arrière train tout blanc) en vol. Des tas de canards et de bécassines volent devant lui.
ALT
bbecquet ,
@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar

Incroyable photo ! Ça doit être quelque chose d'assister à cette grande panique sur l'étang et voir sa massive silhouette arriver.

@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar bbecquet , to random

"Oystercatchers". 4-layer reduction linocut.

Oystercatchers are one of my favorite birds. I love their elusive presence at the edge of immense beaches, their calm red eye, their shy and pinched call, and how when dusk is coming they migrate in flocks to this small rocky reef just out of man's reach.

Multiple prints of the last layer drying flat or hanging on a wire.
Test prints of each intermediate color layer, showing the process of the reduction print.

Test prints of each intermediate color layer, showing the process of the reduction print.
ALT
@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar bbecquet , to random

This wonderful moment, when the image you have made emerge from the dark of the plate for hours also emerges from the dark of the ink.

Taken during the first inking and test printing, to know where to focus the efforts next.

Photo of a small copper plate held in hand, previously inked and wiped, engraved with the image of a white heron-like bird perched on a branch.
ALT
@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar bbecquet , to random

Working on a new etching, to remember a grass snake I encountered last summer. I already etched some lines, I'm adding finer ones and plan to do an aquatint later.

Copper plate covered with etching ground, in which a coiled grass snake is being drawn. The copper shines a bit in the lines.
ALT
@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar bbecquet , to random

WIP, preparing my next plate for a first etching bath. The copper is fully covered by etch-resistant varnish, in which I'm tracing the drawing.

Zoom on a part of the plate while the drawing is made, with guiding marks on the varnish and the pointy tool tracing in it, revealing bright copper under.

Zoom on a part of the plate while the drawing is made, with guiding marks on the varnish and the pointy tool tracing in it, revealing bright copper under.
ALT
bbecquet OP ,
@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar

You mean to draw something else on it for a totally different series of prints?
Well, it depends. Some people use both sides of their plates. It means being careful with both sides at all times, because copper is very easily scratched. I've done it only for doing tests. Also, depending on the depth of front marks, some effects can be visible on prints from the back.
For reusing the front, most of the time you can't. For etching and engraving, the marks in the plate are deep, metal is gone, so you can't really erase things. For mezzotint, you can redo the roughening process and actually start fresh.
Personnally I love my plates more than my prints, so keep them as-is :)

@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar bbecquet , to random

2025 new year greeting card. 5 color reduction linocut.

Vertical linocut print showing a mountainous landscape with a track going in through hills covered with heather.
ALT
@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar bbecquet , to random

2022 new year greeting card. 4 plates linocut.

Linocut print showing four ringe plovers frolicking on a sandy beach, in the top right quarter of the image. The three other quarters are taken by sea waves, on which a buoy floats with 2022 written on it.
ALT
@bbecquet@pixelfed.art avatar bbecquet , to random

2019 new year greeting card. 5 plates linocut.

Linocut printing greeting card, showing a rocky sea side landscape with mountains in the distance and some flying sea birds.
ALT