Anja Percival

About Anja

Anja Percival is a Durham based printmaker. She prints copperplates, using etching, wax resist, and aquatint to build tone and line. She is fascinated by the different atmospheres that light creates in our environment.

Anja doesn't use any photographic or digital techniques; every process is hand-drawn and painted to create hyper-realist scenes. Once the copperplates are prepared with waxing, etching, and acid, Anja paints on muted colours as you would painting on a canvas. This gives her the ultimate level of control over the finished colour.

Print processes:
* Etching - scratching into the waxed copperplate with a sharp incising tool to create defined lines.
* Aquatint - this technique creates tonal effects rather than defined lines. The copper plate is submerged in acid which eats away the surface of the plate, and creates areas of tone when inked and printed.
* Wax resist - wax is drawn and painted on to the surface of the copperplate to protect certain areas when submerged in the acid. These areas remain, while un-waxed areas are eaten away.

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