Lithograph Information

When the first etching was printed it was done at an old printing company in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia. It was an amazing journey to learn how a photo negative was made of the etching. Then a negative was made of the negative to be able to get the “reverse” color (black) just like the etching. After the second negative was made it was reviewed and lines were manually corrected in order to capture each of the etching’s lines. A metal plate for printing was made and the lithographs were run through a two roller (oil/ink and water) press to reproduce the etching on paper. See examples of the different releases here!

The printer explained that as the lithos were being printed, a puff of powder was scattered over the prints to keep the lithos from sticking to each other (You might notice this on your lithograph). We never removed this forcibly in order to preserve the integrity and uniqueness of each lithograph. The lithos were then spread out across the available surfaces in the printing building - to allow them to dry. They were very heavy with ink and it took a day or so to dry!

Notably, you might notice some slight ink marks on the back of some of the lithos. This is due to them being stacked and packaged. You might also notice that if you turn the litho over and look where Susan’s signature is (on the front) there might be a slight “reverse signature” on the back of the lithograph. This is due to Susan moving each litho on top of the one below and signing/numbering it.

Each new lithograph was ALWAYS first released in black. Most first editions were in runs of less than 250. Only 200 were numbered 1-200 (i.e. 34/200) and released for the public. There were also artist proofs and error lithos that are numbered and mostly in the possession of the artist.

When a lithograph was re-released the second edition was in Azure Blue, the third edition was Ruby Red. Three lithographs had a fourth edition color which was Deep Blue. You can tell what release you have by the numbers at the bottom of the page. Example: The “With Grace” second release would have the number 2 before the print number. (i.e. 2-110/200). The number 2 represents the second release (Azure Blue color) and the 110/200 represents the litho number 110 out of 200 lithos in the edition. The third releases had a number 3 (Ruby Red color) and the fourth release lithos had a number 4 before the litho number.

More Trivia: All lithographs (except for the Peace Angel) were printed in an 11” x 14” trim size. In the beginning the lithographs did not have titles on the bottom of the prints. As the lithos became more popular the titles were added and the run sizes increased. There are a very limited number of some of the first release/edition" black lithos and early limited run second and third release lithos still available.

All of the metal press plates and negatives continue to be in Susan’s possession except for one “Peace Angel” metal press plate that was given to a dear friend in Pennsylvania. All original etchings remain in Susan’s possession.

Not listed in this gallery were the 11” x 14” lithographs entitled “And My Soul is Humble” and “Mary’s Gift” (Be It Done Unto Me). These were only released in black and are of a low run and are untitled. Also the “Peace Angel” was released in the first 10 years only in an 8” x 10” format. At the Tenth Anniversary of Susan’s Art the “Peace Angel” was released in the 11” x 14” trim size and had the title “Let There Be Peace”. It was also embossed with the Tenth Anniversary seal and date. There was a limited edition of 200 (plus artist proofs). There are a small number of these left and are noted in the gallery store.