Vaught Corsair Shot From A Catapult c. 1930

This print of a Vaught Corsair, by Wayne Davis, catapults us right into the middle of the ocean. It's all about process here; Davis used a soft ground etching technique, which gives the image a hazy, almost dreamlike quality. Look how the marks create a subtle texture that mimics the sea and sky. You can almost feel the salt spray on your face. The limited color palette makes us focus on tone and texture, which is where the real story lies, as the velvety grays create a sense of depth and atmosphere. The clouds behind the plane feel massive and soft, but the etched lines are sharp to pick out the plane in mid-flight. The contrast gives us a sense of how small the plane is against the sky. I'm reminded of Piranesi's etchings. There’s a similar fascination with the monumental and the slightly ominous, but where Piranesi gives us prisons, Davis gives us the open sky.