Diane Victor

Beware the Lap of Luxury

Diane Victor served as the Arthur L. and Sheila Prensky visiting artist in the spring of 2018. A master printmaker herself, Diane dove into new materials while working with Island Press. Early experimentation at the start of her residency involved silk aquatints and small-scale etching on steel, both new processes to Victor. The final print edition produced from the residency is a large-scale etching on steel titled Beware the Lap of Luxury, proving Victor’s virtuosity with drawing, etching, and biting social critique.

The master printer is painting a protective ground on an etching plate.

Artist sitting on floor drawing on large plate.

Artist and master printer look at the etching plate while inking it.

Large inked etching plate on bed of printing press.

Artist and printer lean over a fresh print to inspect it just after printing.

Artist drawing with smoke from a candle.

Students watching artist draw a portrait on paper with smoke from a candle.

Diane paints hardground on areas of the plate she wants to protect before the plate goes back in the acid bath. She refers to a state proof to see where to paint the hardground.

Tom Reed, master printer, coats the plate with hardground in preparation for another round of drawing for Diane.

Diane drawing on the steel etching plate that is coated with hardground.

Diane and Tom apply ink and wipe the plate for a state proof.

The plate is fully wiped after inking and ready to print.

Diane and Tom inspect a proof just after printing.

Diane doing a demo of how she achieves her amazing smoke drawings.

Lucky students watching and learning how to draw with smoke!

"A Collaborative Investigation" - article and short video about Diane Victor's work with Island Press, published in The Source, April 13, 2018

Editions from this project

black and white print showing a man in a chair with a woman on his lap wearing a hyena mask on her head