Introduction to Aquatint Etching with Sally Weatherill
Venue: Gainsborough’s House
The traditional intaglio technique of aquatint etching allows images to be created with a range of tonal values. The results can be atmospheric and a bit like washes of watercolour, hence the origin of the name ‘aquatint’.
In this course you will learn how to prepare a zinc plate and apply the aquatint rosin before progressing to image making and finally, printing.
During the session, you will learn how to:
- File plate edges
- Polish the plate
- Degrease the plate
- Apply and fuse the rosin
- Etch a plate in three tones using nitric acid
- Prepare paper for printing
- Ink and print the plate
All materials are included: two 10 x 15cm zinc plates, cartridge paper, ink and use of studio tools and equipment.
Tickets for all Print Workshop Courses can be cancelled up to one month beforehand. Refunds will be given after this date only if the place is re-sold.
Click here to book your tickets on the Gainsborough’s House website
About Sally:
Sally Weatherill is an abstract artist whose work in paint and print invites viewers to reflect on themes of transience, memory, and the layered traces of time. Her pieces often explore the idea of the palimpsest — where marks, textures, and images build up, fade, and re-emerge, creating rich, complex surfaces that hint at what lies beneath.
Originally from the US, Sally studied art history and textile design before moving to the UK, where she established her studio on the Essex/Suffolk border. For over two decades, she enjoyed a successful career as a textile designer and weaver before returning to fine art to complete an MA at the City & Guilds of London Art School.
Sally now shares her passion for printmaking as a Print Fellow at City & Guilds and as a print technician at Gainsborough’s House. Her work reflects a deep love of process, material, and the quiet power of layered imagery.
