All three of these images became prints. I decided to use etching, because there is something very satisfying working with zinc and acid. The quality of the line is very fine and because i tend to do a lot of hatching and crosshatching, the medium fit my style.
I really like the way they turned out, the top diptych is called "Light and Shadow" as they are neither good nor bad, but rather opposing spirits of equally important things. I wanted to depict Light as shy and fleeting as it is always changing and moving. Her hair is straight and long like beams of light. Shadow is a lot more bold and daring as she is everywhere. Her hair is curly and flows like the edges of shadows seem to flow. The bottom etching is called "Air" and i wanted her to look like she is taking flight. I got the gradient of the background by doing several layers of aquatint on the plate, which is a process of covering the plate with resin, baking it, and then stopping out all the areas where you don't want the acid to bite. Really fun stuff.
I didn't want to stop there, though. I felt there was something really compelling about the balanced compositions of "Light and Shadow." I liked the idea of the dual portraits, and my mentor suggested that i take up the challenge and make them life-sized paintings. Challenge accepted.
After many hours of work, i came up with these:
Details:
