Tiger Blood Lily (Blue)

Tiger Blood Lily (Blue) depicts the daylily cultivar Hemerocallis Tiger Blood, a hybrid recognised for its deep red petals streaked with darker mahogany — markings that gave the plant its name and place this print within a category Doyle has tagged loosely under animal subjects despite the botanical focus. The (Blue) designation indicates a colour variant within the edition, likely printed à la poupée or with a single-colour ink wash that shifts the chromatic register away from the cultivar's natural red. Copper-sulphate etching, the technique Doyle has refined over decades at Graphic Studio Dublin, uses a non-toxic mordant to bite the copper plate, producing softer line transitions and a more atmospheric tonal range than nitric or ferric processes. The resulting line has a slightly veiled quality that suits the lily's recurved, papery petals and its short, intense flowering window.