Printmaking in the Sun introduces a revolutionary new printmaking technique known as the solarplate method, first developed in 1972 by one of the book's authors, Dan Welden. He had begun experimenting with light-sensitive polymer plates in place of traditional metal plates, which frees the artist from exposure to poisonous lead fumes.
To make a solarplate print, one creates a piece of artwork on film, overlays it on a solarplate, and exposes the film and plate together in the sun. The drawing is transferred to the plate, which is then developed in ordinary tap water. The resulting image appears in the same orientation as the original drawing.
This book exhaustively covers the techniques of solarplate printing, describing how to use the proper equipment and materials, prepare relief and intaglio images, make and print relief and intaglio plates, expose your work to the sun, use digital images and photogravure, and work with color printing. The book is generously illustrated with color and black-and-white solarplate images by accomplished artists, as well as clear step-by-step illustrations depicting how to prepare and process your images and plates.
The book also contains a comprehensive glossary, selected further reading, and list of suppliers in the United States and Australia. The innovative techniques described in Printmaking in the Sun form an enormous resource of versatile, imaginative applications.
Artists of all levels will appreciate the fluidity of creative expression inherent in such a simple and immediate process.
