Number Four
Portobello Beach Edinburgh
The iconic groynes at Portobello beach were installed in the 1970s. They've recently been renovated - a bit of a shame in some ways as they had been bent into fantastic shapes by the sea and weight of sand. The numbers, 1-6, were added to the posts marking the ends of the groynes in 2021 to identify sections of the beach for emergency services. In the distance across the bay North Berwick Law is visible above the coast near Gullane.
I made this plate in two main stages. Firstly I isolated the groyne and the land on the horizon using sugar lift, then aquatinted these and etched by spit-bite, painting the ferric chloride solution onto the plate. I then cleaned the plate, aquatinted again and painted the etching solution onto the plate to add the tone to the beach, sea and sky.
price (unframed): £120
brass plate spit bite aquatint etching
plate made November 2025
edition of 60
plate size 210x300mm
mounted/trimmed to fit frame 16x12 inches
plate no. 147
