Introduction
Salt Granite Spruce is comprised of eighteen color mezzotints depicting coastal Maine. Intimations of the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early twentieth century are evident in the palette of greens and grays, with additional touches of violet, eggplant and ochre. The overall warm and tranquil depictions of nature are another reference to the period. A variety of techniques were used in the production of this series and are common to each image. Chine collé, a technique that utilizes color paper in a print, offered a consistent underlying tone, unifying the series. In this case a mustard-colored paper, cut to the precise dimensions of the image, was glued to the larger printing paper during the printing process. All images were created through the use of four mezzotint plates, each plate introducing an additional color and dimension. Selected plates were prepared a la poupée, which involves inking one plate with two or more color inks.