Oscar Kearsley

I started with creating a cow utilising intaglio on 2mm boxboard. I experimented with both tearing away the top layer of paper and crosshatching to create the dark spots on the cow. I preferred the way the tearing appeared as it added a natural texture to the print.

Utilising these methods I created a number of plates including a lobster, fish, snail, and more. I incorporated other techniques along with dry point and tearing the paper. For the snail I added splotches of glue to the snail to give it a slimy appearance. This worked really well as the splotches turned slightly lighter when used with intaglio ink.

I tried to maintain a somewhat naturalistic, earthy colour palette. I used deep red’s mixed with sepia along with ocean-like blues and oranges. My butterfly plate was multicoloured through the use of both intaglio and relief processes. The intaglio areas would be inked black while the patterns of the butterfly were coloured with relief ink.

When printing these plates I struggled with obtaining a strong print. It often printed too light or too dark with splotches oozing from the edges of lines. I fixed the too light issue by using a toothbrush to dig the ink into the lines. By wiping down the edges of the plates and making sure the press wasn’t set too tight I stopped the oozing ink.

I have settled on a final composition for my final work. It will involve a UFO hovering at the top while all the animals will be being sucked up inside it by a light, as often depicted in media. These animal plates depict these animals as unrealistic sizes (such as a snail being much larger than a shark). This adds a comedic sense to the piece. The night sky backdrop will either be done by nonprinting or painting.