About Anja Percival Printmaker
Anja is a printmaker based in Fowler’s Yard, Durham, creating hand-drawn copperplate etchings using aquatint.
“I specialise in copperplate etching, using wax resist on aquatint. My etchings are all hand-drawn, I do not use any photographic or digital techniques. The etchings are created by working directly onto the copper plate with a wax pencil. I rarely start with line, but instead focus on the highlights within an image, using techniques that build on the areas that will remain light, instead of building up the image with dark line and shading. Then during the printing process, I apply ink to the plate in quite a painterly fashion – ‘à la poupée’ – that allows me to vary density and colour in such a way as to exaggerate the effect of the etched image. This ink is then later transferred to paper by extreme pressure in an etching press.”