Dry Point Etching on Plaster

One of the most ancient methods of drawing, drypoint is considered an intaglio process.  As implemented by the Bugagiar Twins – drypoint on a plaster plate - it is most similar to that used in sculpture, providing a composition with lines that are incised and lie below the surface, as opposed to relief work which is raised.  The result is a solitary, unique, original work of art. 

In similar fashion to the intaglio printing process, which utilizes a copper or zinc plate to produce multiple prints of an image, the Twins use a hard object as a tool to "draw" onto a softer surface – a delicate plaster plate.  Traditionally the plate is the object used to generate the prints through the pressure of a rolling press. Many artists have used drypoint including Rembrandt, Durer and Rodin.  There is, however, no record of this unforgiving technique being used on a plaster plate where the plate itself is the framed work of art.   

Although difficult to master, in the “right hands” the sharp tool (a shaft of hard steel in a square or diamond shape) can produce crisp, precise and clean lines.  Spontaneity and certainty combine to allow the Twins execution of an idea to keep pace with their inspiration. Tints and textures are created by using tools that produce multiple lines resulting in a composition of subtle and pleasing tonality.  The exacting nature of this technique allows for no mistakes, as it is impossible to erase or correct the lines once they have been "drawn,” consequently the technique belongs to an elite group of experts.  Add the fragility of the plaster plate to the intensity of the technique and the group narrows even further to just two!  The Bugagiar Twins are the only documented artists to drypoint on plaster, possessing the expertise to render magnificent works of art in this manner.