Meryln Evans was born in Cardiff, Wales; he studied at Glasgow School of Art and won a travelling scholarship which took him to Germany and Scandinavia. His first etchings date from 1930, he exhibited at the London Surrealist Exhibition in 1936. In the late 1940s he began to make colour prints incorporating combinations of etching, aquatint, engraving and drypoint. In 1957, having learnt the technique in Paris shortly before, he used the sugar-lift aquatint process to produce a suite of six large scale prints, Vertical Suite in Black, which were published the following year by the St George’s Gallery, London.

Out of Print British Printmaking 1946-1976, The British Council 1994

Further reading:
The Graphic work of Merlyn Evans; A Retrospective Exhibition, introduction by Robert Erskine, essay by Bryan Robertson, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1972

Glossary

  • Aquatint

    An intaglio printmaking process and a method of achieving tone by etching a plate covered with resin dust. The acid corrodes the unprotected metal leaving only the surface protected by a speck of dust. When inked the plate will print a tone of black through to very pale grey depending on the length of time it was immersed in the acid. Its name derives from the finished print resembling a watercolour, and is a tonal rather than a linear work.

  • Drypoint

    An intaglio printing process where the lines are scored directly into the plate with a sharp needle, which can be used much like a pen. The line leaves a deposit of metal in its wake known as a burr, which when printed holds a small deposit of ink and gives the drypoint line a characteristic softness of tone. Its disadvantage is that such plates wear out quickly, so editions are usually limited to 50 or fewer prints. Drypoint is often combined with other printing techniques.

  • Engraving

    An intaglio process whereby lines are cut into a metal or wood plate using an engraving tool (a burin), which is pushed in front of the hand to achieve a sharp controlled incision capable of great delicacy. This technique requires a great deal of control and is not suited to spontaneous mark-making.

  • Etching

    An intaglio process whereby a metal plate (normally copper, zinc or steel) is covered with an acid-resistant layer of rosin mixed with wax. With a sharp point, the artist draws through this ground to reveal the plate beneath. The plate is then placed in an acid bath (a water and acid solution) and the acid bites into the metal plate where the drawn lines have exposed it. The waxy ground is cleaned off and the plate is covered in ink and then wiped clean, so that ink is retained only in the etched lines. The plate can then be printed through an etching press. The strength of the etched lines depends on the length of time the plate is left in the acid bath.

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  • Art Project

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