Vicki MacLean is a well-established artist known for her large works in oil and watercolour. She evokes the subtle qualities of Nova Scotian rural life and landscape in those pieces.

With her more recent interest in intaglio, MacLean has translated her larger visions into rich, concise copper plate etchings.

These small etchings compress the energy and beauty of the natural world without losing any of its power to astonish.

MacLean graduated in art from the Connecticut College for Women in 1960 and went on to study figure drawing, lithography, and wood cut at the University of Wisconsin. MacLean then moved to Canada, living for several years in Cape Breton and then relocating to Antigonish, N.S. where she maintains her studio. She also taught and directed the St. Francis Xavier University Art Gallery.

See all etchings on her artist page at Gallery 78 in Fredericton, N.B. here.

About Etching

Etching is an intaglio process. A metal plate is covered with a protective, acid-resistant wax ground. The artist then draws the image in the wax with a stylus, exposing the metal. The plate is then placed in an acid bath, which corrodes the exposed areas and creates furrows and troughs that will hold the ink. The depth of the etched lines is controlled by the strength of the acid and the amount of time the plate is exposed to it. After the ground is cleaned off, the etched plate is inked and printed.

Colours in an etching may be achieved by using a different etched plate for each colour or by using a method called “à la poupée”.