Diana Hatchitt Fine Art Mezzotint Printmaking

Nature is my inspiration and the intaglio plate provides a wonderful format for organic forms. I have a small printing press in my art studio in our Stillwater, Minnesota home where I am able to create images, prepare plates and print away.

I begin my process by manually etching the plate with the rocker tool to create a rough surface called a burr. The surface is carved away with scrapers and burnishers to remove parts of the burr and producing a drawing.

The inking process begins by working dense black ink into the surface of the prepared plate.

The plate is wiped and the image is revealed.

Color is applied using the a la poupée method. The ink is worked into the open areas by hand.

The prepared plate is placed on the press bed and printed on damp rag paper. Voilà! A wonderful surprise.