Alan Green was born in London; he studied at Beckenham School of Art and at the Royal College of Art in London. He originally trained as an illustrator and printmaker, taking up painting seriously in the 1960s. He used etching for intensive periods of printmaking activity, frequently participated in international graphic exhibitions and had a number of solo shows devoted to this graphic work. The final state of his etchings, as with his paintings, bear witness to the changes which have taken place in their making. In the suite of nine etchings, Four to One of 1976 he systematically reduced and re-worked the full-sized plates as used for White on Brown until the final plate in the suite, ¼ Black Diagonal, was literally one quarter of the original plate size. The suite incorporated virtually every intaglio technique and included the technique of screenprinting colour directly onto the plate for printing simultaneously with the intaglio inking.
Out of Print: British Printmaking 1946 - 1976, The British Council 1994

Further reading:
Alan Green Paintings 1969 - 1979, essays by Erich Franz, Martine Lignon and Bernd Growe, Kunsthalle Bielefeld 1979

 

http://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/may/28/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries1

Glossary

  • 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.

  • Intaglio

    Is the generic term used to describe printing from a surface (most commonly a copper, zinc or steel plate) which holds ink in the grooves, textures or pitted areas which have been cut, scratched or etched. In order to obtain a print, ink is pushed into the incisions on the plate and the non-printed area wiped clean before being laid over with a piece of dampened paper and rolled through an etching press. (See also Etching; Drypoint; Engraving; Aquatint; Mezzotint)

  • Painting

    Work of art made with paint on a surface. Often the surface, also called a support, is a tightly stretched piece of canvas, paper or a wooden panel. Painting involves a wide range of techniques and materials, along with the artist's intellectual concerns effecting the content of a work.

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