Reworking fish prints

I added a bit of color today to prints I did last fall. I had worked in drypoint on an 8 x 6-inch copper plate. 

For the drypoint process, I just use a metal stylus to incise lines on the plate. In doing so, the copper is displaced, creating burrs that hold ink well, which results in lovely velvety blacks. This is a form of intaglio printing, so the ink ends up below the surface of the plate before going through the press.

Giant close-up:

After each time through the press, the burr is further flattened; thus less ink stays on the plate and the image becomes lighter in value with subsequent printings.

 

I used colored pencils for the little fish in the middle.

The bottom half could be developed more. An aquatint could be a better/less time consuming and hand cramp-causing choice than drypoint.