Examples of Inspirational dry point prints

 This is a dry point print by Picasso who is well known for his distortion of faces, people, images etc and I couldn't have found a better example of print to use than this. It's beautiful, he's used scratchy cross hatching to create tone, shadow and face shape, circular shapes all come together to create the head and even though it's distorted the features are all recognisable. I really like the cross hatch effect and the detail in the lips, and also the change from the light at the top of the print to the dark shadows at the bottom, she looks very angelic and peaceful and there is a huge essence of Picasso about this print that is very familiar which is why I think this print is successful. The print is called "head of a woman" which is less elegant, created in 1933 and finally printed in 1961 by Jacques Frelaut. 

This is also a picasso print, I struggled to figure out what it was at first which personally, I don't think is a good thing! It reminds me of a spider web and I find it quite creepy but I appreciate the time and effort that has clearly gone into it as it's a very complex piece of work. It is a picture of two women sitting down- and is another distorted image. I have chosen it though because it is a beautiful piece of art (whether I like it or not) and has a very original and unique style... It is called "Two seated women",created in 1938 and printed in 1961 yet again by Jacques Frelaut.

This image is by Ribera who only made eighteen dry-points and etchings between 1620 and 1628 whilst working in Naples to boost his career. I really like this print not just because of it's beautiful detail but because it has a little story behind it. It is an image depicting the demi-god son of Pan, Silenus. Silenus was a poet, drinker and leader of the Satyrs (the half goat half men in the background). Silenus would roam the countryside with a crew of Satyrs & Fauns drinking and causing mischief and chasing Nymphs, the donkey in the image is significant as when Silenus was too drunk to walk he would ride on his back. <-- I think this is a fascinating piece of history and myth as well as a beautiful print. I love the way he has captured the simple broken- down background and surroundings and yet, Silenus has an aura of elegance and luxury about him. the small detail and the shadowing is amazing and the expression on Pan's face is so life-like, aggressive and evil... even though I'll not be able to re-create something of this standard it still remains an inspiration. This is an etching with drypoint and engraving, created in 1628 and the original size is 272x350mm.

scratchy cross- hatched effect is lovely! I'd like to use it in my print..

 This image (Rainy day Queens) is almost like a photograph because it is that detailed! It's absolutely beautiful! The tall characteristic buildings of Queens, New York the dark sky should look miserable... but Martin has left a huge chunk of light in the sky that is almost heavenly and makes the whole picture very idyllic, calm and quiet. I'm amazed at how perfect he has got the reflection of the light in the water and puddles, the woman at the front and the sleek lampposts make the image look classy and the cratchy rain is a really good effect to use.
By Martin Lewis

Angie Hoffman:
Angie has this incredible effect of doubling the image again underneath her original which is simply brilliant, her images are comic-like but are still very detailed. There isn't much shading but it is still a very effective image even more so because of the dark background against the pure white of the skin.