The mezzotint features the Sombrero Galaxy, a spiral galaxy about 28 million light years away. I chose it as a subject because it has a prominent dust lane (the dark ring in the middle), a supermassive black hole in the center, and a tilted orientation in relation to the Earth, which all make for a pleasing galaxy shape with a luminous glow that I really wanted to try and capture. Mezzotints are a great medium for space scenes, because  the process involves manually roughened plates which trap ink so well that dark black areas end up really black while you can still push a lot of light areas into it to create contrast by burnishing away the roughness with a burnishing tool.

Here’s a good video by a master printmaker that shows the whole mezzotinting process, courtesy of kabinetgrafike on YouTube:

The basic rundown of the mezzotint process: with the sharp teeth of a mezzotint rocker, I went over the whole plate in a rocking motion to cut little marks into a copper plate, until the surface of the plate is evenly covered with marks and turns a matte salmon pink. Then, with a burnishing tool, I carefully drew in areas I wanted to be lighter in tone like a pencil mark, removing the texture and smoothing the plate in those areas. The areas with texture trap more ink than the burnished areas, allowing for great tonal variation.

I controlled the progress of the drawing by inking and printing the plate (known as pulling state proofs)) at regular intervals as I went along, so I could see what I was doing and compare it to the proof that came before it. Here’s the very first proof I pulled after I rocked the plate and began to burnish in my drawing. See that tiny smudge in the center? That’s going to be the center of the galaxy. I was overly cautious with the burnisher on the first go, but you can already see the subtle tones that can be achieved in this process! If you look carefully, you can see where I marked the position of a few stars and burnished around the inner edge of the  dust lane to make it stand out a little.

 I was able to use the darkness of the first proof to gauge how hard I should burnish the plate for the next proof. I pushed a little harder with the burnisher this time. My intention was to create a harder ball of light in the center, which eventually radiates out softly.

After that proof, I began to build up that soft light carefully. I also cleaned up the edges a little. With a mezzotint you can choose to cut off those partially-rocked edges, but I really like the effect created by just burnishing them down softly; it looks like a fiber photograph to me, which I really like the effect of.

At this point I decided that ball of light was too harsh; also, I didn’t like the horizontal marks left by the burnisher there. So I kept going, varying the directions of my burnisher as  I slowly built up that aura of light.

I began to bring the light outside of the confines of the galaxy’s elliptical form. I made sure to leave the dust belt alone, while building up light right around it for contrast.

Progress at this stage was much more minute as I pulled each proof; I was now focusing on making the fuzzy glowy ball bigger and fuzzier, in an airy way, minimizing harshness everywhere except on the dust belt and stars.

I cleaned up the edges more, especially around the corners. I was almost happy with the glow now, but it still felt like it needed more spatial depth. At this point, I also made the stars around the galaxy a little lighter with each proof. They were quite difficult to see unless I over-wiped the ink off the plate, which would not have printed well.

I added more stars (really pressing hard with the burnisher this time, to make them stand out like pinpoints- otherwise they’re too hard to wipe!).

This was the last proof! I didn’t change anything about the print after this, other than the paper. These proofs and the first edition of prints were all printed on Domestic Etch paper; for my second edition (the first picture in this post), I used a thick white Somerset paper.

The process of burnishing took me about four hours total as well- I rocked the plate in two separate sessions, and burnished it in three sessions.

I hope you found this illuminating! Please leave a comment if you have any questions or suggestions.

Some photos of my studio just after I moved in, and some almost-finished paintings:

Yay! Lots of room. This is in the attic.

Both of these are very nearly done. The galaxy painting is of the spiral galaxy NGC 4414 and needs more stars and a little more contrast; the epoxy resin painting there is of the “Pillars of Creation” in the Eagle Nebula. That one needs one more layer, a final resin coat and some varnish.

This is a new abstract piece I’m working on; I wanted to explore using depth and fluid forms.

I just finished rocking another mezzotint plate, too, so expect another print coming up!

$60, approx. 10″ x 10″, unframed

Mezzotint etching on thick white Somerset paper

Galaxy Art Print - Origin... Available $60.00 USD

The pieces accepted were:

Pleiades Epoxy resin and acrylic on birch wood, 10″x10″, 2012

M104: Sombrero Galaxy Mezzotint etching print, 10″x10″ , 2012

I’m very glad to be included among such a talented roster of artists at Redux! Come by the exhibition and take a look at the work if you’re in the Charleston, SC area from December 6 to January 12th, 2012 :)

Here’s the exhibition brief:

“Alizey Khan’s paintings and prints serve as portraits of astronomical phenomena, exploring the properties of light and spatial depth in an incomprehensibly vast space. Alizey strives to visually depict natural processes beyond ordinary human experience to instil in the viewer a sense of curiosity and wonder regarding the universe that lies beyond our little bubble of humanity. ”Interspatial: Astronomical Artwork” encompasses the variety of media she chooses to work in, including paintings on canvas, 3D paintings created with layers of resin and acrylic paint, intaglio etchings, monotypes and linocut relief prints. ”

As such, I will be unable to sell any astronomical originals listed in my portfolio until August 2013, although prints will still be available through my DeviantART print store. Thanks for your understanding!

Alizey Khan – Monkey Head Nebula – Acrylic on canvas, 48″ x 60″

This photo is from the first edition:

I love this medium- the rich black of the mezzotint with the soft gradient of light really creates a sense of space within the galaxy.

I used a mezzotint rocker to create grooves evenly over a copper plate (to create a rich black background) then used a burnisher and slowly built up the white areas by smoothing down the grooved copper. I pulled about 9 proofs in the process, burnishing a little more each time. The stars were tricky to burnish!

I especially liked the border… in a mezzotint you want to avoid rocking the outer 1/4″ of the plate to prevent damaging the rocker, and this outer edge is usually cut off, but I liked the soft effect of the rocker marks so I just burnished them down instead and rounded out the corners. It reminds me of a fiber printed photograph!

Here’s a picture from the second edition, on white Somerset paper. I am currently selling prints of this edition in my Etsy store!

Alizey Khan – Space Tourist 1: Saturn – Intaglio etching, 6″ x 6″

Alizey Khan – Space Tourist 2: Jupiter – Intaglio etching, 6″ x 6″

Alizey Khan – Space Tourist 3: Galactic Journey – Intaglio etching, 6″x6″

And an aquatint of the Horsehead Nebula:

Alizey Khan – Horsehead Nebula – Aquatint etching, 12″ x 6″

“Aureole 2″ Acrylic on canvas, 40″x40″: Minimum bid $300

“M74 Spiral Galaxy” Linocut print 24″x30″: Minimum bid $75

If you live in Charleston, SC and you’re looking for some great original art, this is an event you won’t want to miss!

Alizey Khan – NGC 4414 Spiral Galaxy – acrylic on canvas, 16″x20″

A spiral galaxy. I used a slightly different technique here and started with a light canvas to maintain the strength of the light in the center. I think it worked.

Alizey Khan – NGC 2174 – Monkey Head Nebula – 48″x60″, acrylic on canvas

Very Halloween-themed… The original photo was by astrophotographer J-p Metsavainio who graciously gave me permission to use his work as references. I kept seeing the skull in this one, so I decided to emphasize it.

Alizey Khan – Horsehead Nebula – intaglio aquatint etching, 6″x12″

My first aquatint, I’m quite happy with it so far although the plate needs a bit more burnishing. The original H-Alpha photo was also by J-p Metsavainio.

Alizey Khan – Space Tourist – intaglio

I decided to combine the two previous “Space Tourist” prints you’ve seen with one of a spaceship heading towards a distant galaxy and make it a triptych.