After dinner last night, and two large glasses of very cold sauvignon blanc, I returned to my studio, cranked down my Dick Blick proofing press, and got to work (while MJ watched the Tony awards).

I have three “plaster” plates that are actually made with vinyl spackling compound over matboard. I put a lot of texture on one plate, the other two are trowelled smoother, but not sanded flat. I used an etching needle to draw on the plates, then sealed them.

I wanted to proof the plates for a preliminary idea of how they would print with an etching wipe. I started with a dauber, but found I needed a brush to get the ink into the plates.

I worked quickly, messing about, and decided to re-ink the plate with some black at the very last. I printed it over an earlier print in Speedball brown, reversing the plate direction. This double print is certainly the best of the test, and I kind of love it!

The smaller images are, in order, the two ink double print worked further with colored pencil, then the plate printed once in brown, and then another double print, all brown ink, worked further with colored pencil.