sidney besse Fine Art

Lithography is a process where the artist uses a greasy medium to create an image on a piece of limestone or marble which is then etched with acid and treated with gum arabic. A roller is used to transfer ink to the stone which is then run through a press and printed on a sheet of paper. Although part of an edition, each print is considered an original piece of artwork, having been carefully hand-inked and pressed.

Intaglio includes techniques in which the image is incised into a surface, usually copper or zinc plates. Incisions can be created by etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint or mezzotint. To print, ink is applied to the plate, which leaves ink in the incisions. A damp piece of paper is placed onto the surface and both are run through the press. The pressure pushes the paper into the incisions so that the paper comes in contact with the ink held there.

A relief print is a process where the areas of the surface that are to be printed are raised. Anything the artist does not want to print will be cut away from the surface. The surface can be rolled up with ink, laying paper onto the surface, and printing. Techniques in relief include wood cut, wood engraving, linocut, and traditional text printing.