Hard Ground B.I.G.

[@Banished82]

Andrew, your ground is really fantastic, can't wait to try all the possible techniques. I've done a line etching already and it worked great. What I found is that you can dry the ground, use water soluble wax pastel to draw on it. This gives a nice pencil/litho-like effect, without the 'unwanted' smudging of soft ground and is also retouchable; you just use water to remove the pastel and redraw until you're satisfied. Then you put the plate back in the oven so the pastel penetrates the ground. It shouldn't come off when the plate has cooled off. You then wash it out with vca and etch the plate. Haven't tried yet if this would work like a sugar-lift, but I certainly will.

[@allensloane5833]

Thank you Andrew- I look forward to getting rid of asphaltum fumes in my life. The ability to draw on the ground and to transfer drawings to the ground and be able to see them as I work really appeals to me. I'll let you know.

[@waltersarfatti4420]

hello Andrew, I think your videos are the best that I've encountered on the web. I am an anglo/italian printmaker and live and work in Tuscany, where I merchandise my prints in the medieval town of San Gimignano.Thank you for your precious information ! Walter Sarfatti

[@basilhall1530]

A great product, Andrew! I have used it on several trips to Greece, where I run printmaking workshops in Skopelos. We have just been using the glorious Greek sunshine to dry the BIG. Not as fast as your oven, but it works well!

[@bigetchingground]

Thanks for using BIG I'm glad you like it. If you have any questions regarding BIG and the different ways it can be used please drop me a line.

[@susanrhughes6147]

+Basil Hall Hi what a wonderful place to do etching from. Do you still have to fly into Skiathos and get a boat across? Its been many years since I was there

[@basilhall1530]

Yes. That's one way to get there. You can take a bus from Athens and ferry across from Agios Constantinos or Volos too.

[@allensloane5833]

Hi Andrew, You use "washing powder" to clean the ground off the plate. This is a term which is not used in the province of America :) I take it to mean detergent for washing clothes? Does it have to be in powder or flake form or is liquid detergent useful? Is a liquid detergent for washing dishes effective? Thanks.

[@artNiKa7]

Dear Andrew, thank you very much for the introduction to B.I.G.! I would like to order both colour variants as well as copper sulphate saline solution and the non-toxic paint stripper you used in the demo. Would it be possible to order them from you? Thank you!

[@waltersarfatti4420]

Hello again, Is it possible to use your icing sugar method with zinc? Walter Sarfatti

[@allensloane5833]

Andrew- very fine and useful videos. A few questions, one at a time. How long would it take for a plate to air dry in a room with average temp and humidity?

[@bigetchingground]

The ground will air dry at room temp in around 12hrs however it does not dry with the same quality. If you don't have access to an oven make one, see my demo on Facebook page 'Trefeglwys Printmakers' I use a a cardboard box lined with aluminium foil and hair dryer when demonstrating at studios without oven.

[@rachelratten6832]

The BIG is rolling on to my plate as it should, however, my beveled edges are being missed by the roller. Are you using a softer roller? My bevel angle is the standard 45%.

[@JohnAndrew1010]

Love the demonstration...what is the whiting that you shake on?

[@bigetchingground]

Hi John, it's just powdered chalk. I'm glad you enjoyed the demo. You may also be interested in viewing my other demos. If you would like to try BIG you can purchase via Takach in USA, intaglio Printmakers and Lawrence's in Uk. You can also order directly from me via my website www.printmakingstudio.co.uk. Regards Andrew

[@junemurray8516]

Thank you for these helpful videos, now that it is so difficult to be part of a working community getting quick answers to technical questions is not so easy. Your presentation is clear and workman like and by the end of the video i'm confident I have enough information to get on with the job. One small question, can I thin BIG with copper plate oil? Why lavender oil?

[@bigetchingground]

You could use a little thin copper plate oil although it won't cure quite so hard. I try as much as possible to avoid using solvents and find a small amount of lavender oil added makes for a good stop out. Thinned even further and it works well for marbling (see demo). No need to thin the ground with lavender or anything else when using BIG as a ground as this can interfere with the texture making it too brittle and preventing the needle from passing through the ground easily. If you find the ground is too stiff from the tube to roll up on the plate this can be remedied by warming up the tube a little. I hope this helps. I am contemplating running a virtual workshop on line once I have finished organising my online teaching for University. Im glad you have found the videos helpful.

[@allensloane5833]

What do you use to clean your brayer and the palette of unused ground? Also does the BIG ground respond to conventional solvents for cleanup?

[@bigetchingground]

BIG will responded to conventional solvents although I do not recommend its use for health and safety reasons. You can clean up BIG using cooking oil on both rollers and glass pallet followed by water with a detergent mixed to finish ( see demo on my Facebook page Trefeglwys Printmakers )

[@allensloane5833]

Could I use a toaster oven or the family oven to bake the plates? Would the chemicals be incompatible with later use for food preparation?

[@bigetchingground]

I know many people who use there home oven to cure BIG but to be honest I would recommend the cardboard box as mentioned in the earlier message. A small oven is good too but for best results BIG cures best with warm air passing over the ground.

[@davemartin6903]

Andrew - I tried the process with BIG yesterday. My oven's lowest temperature is 170 degrees. So, I tried tests at 170 degrees for 4, 5, 6 and 7 minutes. I my surprise, each cooled plate remained sticky/tacky to the touch. Any suggestions for how to get a good firm ground with a 170 degree oven? Dave from Chicago

[@bigetchingground]

Hi Dave, when you say 170 is that Fahrenheit or Centigrade. If you are using Fahrenheit the correct temperature in a fan oven is 284 for 6 min. If your not using a fan oven add a min. The 140 is Centigrade. Hope this helps.

[@davemartin6903]

@@bigetchingground Andrew, Yes, I'm working in Farenheit temperatures. That's good to know. I'll use 285 degrees then, for 6 minutes. Thanks much

[@gingertolonen5553]

The red and black ground is the same thing, simply different colors?

[@bigetchingground]

Yes that’s right. However because BIG is so versatile it is sometimes more preferable to use one more than the other. For example there is no reason you can not use the red for soft ground ( wet ground ) impression but black some people prefer as it is a little easer to see clean exposed plate. The red ground on the other hand is easer to draw preliminary images on top of the ground with soft pencils. It’s best for the photo etch process as you can see is building up against the black toner. With the red you can more easily see when lines and aquatint are etching as they turn black. But really at the end of the day it’s down to personnel choice.

[@paulobrien3241]

How does BIG cope with galvanic etching ?

[@bigetchingground]

Paul O'Brien I know a number of people have used BIG with electro etch with great results.

[@paulobrien3241]

Thanks I'LL give it a go . Cheers Paul

[@paulobrien3241]

@@bigetchingground Hi Andrew .I'v been using BIG using a Copper sulphate solution & a DC generator to etch copper plates for the past year .I have used the generator at 5 volts for 45 minutes to 60 minutes. This gives a good deep etch .For a finer line I'v had good results at 3 volts over 90 minutes to 2 hours . Most problems occur do to a loss of contact that occurs when there is leaking between the plates . This interrupts the flow of the current . I have solved this issue by connecting the red clip directly to the plat . I cut a thin slither off the side of the plate & bend it so that it protrudes above the Na Su mordent . The current can now run uninterrupted through the plate . The etch is clean & deep with no deterioration of the ground. Cheers Paul

[@malinilewis4944]

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[@bzalon]

Well, I tried big. First of all, as a soft ground, unless I'm doing something wrong, it seems to be useless. After one rolls it on, it's wet! If I want to use it as a pencil soft ground drawing through newsprint, wherever the newsprint touches the ground will remove the ground and you just get a big mess. The same thing would happen with press soft ground (pressing leaves for example by rolling them through the press), all the ground would be removed. Then, after heating it up as you demonstrated I thought the hard ground would be good. I got that lovely black finish that you mentioned. However, it was almost like an enamel. It had almost no sensitivity to the needle. It was very difficult to cut through. With Charbonnel hard ground I can even use a 6H pencil lead as a needle. No way is this possible with BIG. Sorry, but I'm very disappointed in your product.

[@bigetchingground]

Bernard Zalon - well obviously, I am disappointed that you didn’t have a better experience with BIG. However, the processes you failed to gain positive results from are achieved on a daily basis by students and experienced printmakers around the world, and have been for over 20 years. I am more than happy to discuss your problems in more detail if you wish. But I will make a couple of points that may help. Firstly it seems that maybe you are applying the ground too deeply, BIG works best laid down very thinly. With this you should not only be able to draw through it as a hard ground with little or no resistance but when used as a wet ground it is able to reproduce fine detail in both impressed and drawn through work. Further if you view the wet ( soft ground ) demo you will see that I instruct the use of a sheet of screen mesh be placed over the wet ground and objects before sending through the press. This repels the ground from the non image areas. Last year was the 15th anniversary of BIGs distribution. Within the exhibition beautiful prints made by artists from all over the world demonstrated its versatility. If you go to my Facebook page ‘Trefeglwys Printmaking’ you will see some of the evidence. As I mentioned I am more than happy to give further advice if you seek it. Just go to my website www.printmakingstudio.co.uk

[@KpxUrz5745]

I have never tried the so-called "nontoxic" grounds, but each time I look into it I conclude they present many undesirable technical problems not found in traditional liquid hard ground usage. As for any toxicity, well frankly to me that is all an overdone trendy fear based mostly in some people's imagination. I see no health risks for an artist to continue using tried and true materials. In this demonstrated case, I'm no fan of the additional steps required to remove this ground from the plate, as opposed to simply washing it off with varnolene or any similar solvent.

[@bigetchingground]

It is the right of everyone to have their say on things they have examined and or researched. However those who have little or no experience of the product or process, and then go on to give an opinion represent many of the issues that face us today in all areas of life. To suggest there are no health problems in using solvents in itself is an irresponsible and poorly researched suggestion.

[@KpxUrz5745]

@@bigetchingground Thank you for the reply. Of course I disagree with everything you said. I will continue to produce intaglio prints the traditional way, am in fine health, and am content that my prints are being collected by various museums and quite a few important collections. I am not ignorant about the newer methods and materials just because I have not used them. I have researched them and I do not like them.

[@awkwardbirdart3313]

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