Spit-bite etchings

"Poudre d'escampette"

"Fête éclatée"

"La fantôme de l'opéra"

Spit-bite etchings on resin aquatinted copper plates (4 x 4 inches / 10 x 10 cm).

These etchings were done during the course of a workshop on spit-bite etching with Louis-Pierre Bougie at Atelier Circulaire.  I recently editioned them on BFK paper at Atelier Glypto in LaSalle.


Spitbite is an etching technique where the acid (in this case ferric acid) is applied directly on the resin aquatinted surface of a copper plate with a small brush as if painting with inks or watercolours.  Water is added to the acid to create wash effects.  The plate is then washed thoroughly with water and the aquatint and spitbite process can be repeated to create layers of darker washes.   Traditionally the brush was coated with saliva, dipped into the acid and brushed onto the plate, hence the term “spitbite”.