Sometimes it is good to go back to basics to unpick just how different platemaking materials interact and behave when you ink them, so whether you are an old hand with carborundum printing or it is a new area for you I hope this will give you food for thought and something to experiment with.
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There are just so many inspiring artists working with this medium. The technique used in most of these examples is very close to painting, the artist working directlyon the plate with carborundum paint to produce a matrix for printing.
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Making plates with carborundum paint is a technique beloved by many printmakers, and once you have tried it you will understand why.
It is a lovely, free painterly technique and you can work quite fast if that suits you. The marks can be very expressive, and the prints often look like a lithograph or evenlike a painting.
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This is an exciting technique creating lovely rich tones with expressive brush strokes, and dynamic splashes.
Carborundum powder is a fine abrasive, also known as silicon carbide. You can also use emerypowder (aluminium oxide). It comes in different grades, generally fine, medium and coarse.
I think of wet-and-dry carborundum paper as a fake mezzotint because it will create a beautiful velvety toned ground that is reminiscent of this traditional (highly involved and time consuming) technique.
If you want to make flat areas of strong even tone without waiting for glue to dry then this is the technique for you. If you use doublesided tape it is almost instant.
Read MoreStardust from outer space! Carborundum is a form of stardust originating outside the solar system. It was discovered in a meteorite that landed in Arizona. Because of its interstellar origins it is very rare and only minute...
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