An etching technique that produces prints characterized by soft lines. The waxy ground used to coat the copper plate is softer and stickier than in normal etching, so it adheres to anything pressed into it. A sheet of paper is laid over the ground and the artist draws on it with a pencil. The technique produces lines similar to chalk or crayon drawing. Web resource here. Video here.

Thomas Gainsborough. Wooded Landscape with a Peasant Reading a Tombstone, Rustic Lovers and a Ruined Church. Soft-ground etching. 1779-80. The Huntington, San Marino, CA.