ARTIST'S STATEMENT:

I have lived in Maine all my life, growing up in Round Pond village. I graduated from Bates College where I was involved in printmaking for most of my four years there, concentrating mostly in etching. After graduating with a BA in fine art I started painting at Damariscotta Pottery, happy to be able to work in an artistic field. In 1998 I moved to Waldoboro and have been fixing up a small cape with my partner. We just finished remodeling a room to be used as a studio and with a darkroom in the basement I can now work easily at home on my etchings and other prints.

At Bates I discovered the process of the mezzotint and just fell in love with it. Unfortunately my professor at the time was unable to help me learn the technique so I had to muddle through on my own. So over the years since then I have experimented on how to get the look I wanted in my mezzotints (with the help of many books!) but it was only just recently than I finally feel completely comfortable with the whole process. I start with a clean copper plate and rock it thoroughly in at least twelve different directions. From there I sketch the image on the plate with a soft pencil and start to eliminate the burrs. I work backwards taking away where I want the light areas to be.

What is important to me in mezzotints are the rich blacks and range of tones you are able to achieve in the final print. I started in college doing complicated still lives and although they were really interesting to look at I felt like I was missing out on showing what the mezzotint was really known for…those intense, velvety blacks. So I have really been simplifying my images lately so I can concentrate more on the medium rather than the subject matter. Although I do spend crazy amounts of time contemplating what I want to do a print of I really have found that I have no choice in the matter. No matter how I plan to do other things I cannot stay away from trees and self-portraits or the combination of the two. I'm sure this has everything to do with where I live and my lifestyle. Being outside in nature so much and living in this gorgeous state really just take over my visions.

I have always been very detailed and realistic in my artwork. So, of course, I am constantly trying to get away from that and loosen my style and become more abstract. As of yet I only see small movements in the direction but I think it is something that will continue progressing as I become more comfortable with my medium. Ultimately, whether I am creating prints from life drawings or from the emotions and imaginations of my mind it's the complete process of making a print that holds me to this medium.

GALLERIES:

You can also see my work at the Saltwater Artists gallery in Pemaquid, ME and my studio in Waldoboro.

All images © Mary Boothby