The Second Pull Isn't Always the Ghost

Back at Home, Monotype: Akua Intaglio on Heritage Paper, 6 x 8 inches

When there is something on the etching plate, even just a hint of something (like there was when I returned to this), I  find I am more patient.  Today's second pull is crisper than yesterday's ghostly first print. It is hot and yesterday the ink was drying as I worked  - today I rolled the release agent on to begin with so the ink moved better and I used more blending oil.

In a way the way that edges blend is what interests me most of the time in monotypes, There isn't much of that in this… I may have overcompensated for something that bugged me in yesterday's print - the fuzzy, dark middle of yesterday's print - I was careful to make things intentional (sharper) where two colours met. 

I'm not sure, does this feel more like an illustration than a print… I was thinking Fairfield Porter and Alex Katz as I worked today.