Monoprint & Ghost

The photo above is the monoprint from the plate I posted Sunday night.  The general steps we followed are:

1. Prepare a “plate" to print from, mine was Yupo paper [basically plastic].   Measure off the plate area that you want to print [depending on your paper size] and mask it with tape.
2. Paint [I used watercolor] with a brayer, brush, sponge, caran d’ache, watercolor pencils, etc, inside your tape lines.  Dry media can be used as well – pencil crayons, chalks… 
3. Remove the tape and gently clean anything outside your tape line…  this is to ensure that your print winds up exactly where you want it on the paper.  Place it face up on a flat, dry surface
4. Prepare your paper - I used BFK Rives printmaking stock.  First soak the paper for at least 3 minutes in a clean sink with a few inches of warm water [longer won’t hurt it]. 
5. Lift the paper out onto a flat support [drawing board, etc] and remove most of the water with a shower squeegee from one side, flip and remove from the second side…  between you’ll need to dry the board with a clean towel. 
6. Place the paper between two clean papers [blotting paper is best but drawing paper works too].  Run a rolling pin over the paper to blot surface moisture, but don’t over dry.
7. Centre your damp printing paper over the print “plate” and lay a large sheet of wax paper on top of that.  Now comes the work…  Rub a printing baren, large flat spoon, brayer or other flat smooth tool in a circular motion over the surface with even pressure.  You can carefully lift a corner to see how it’s printing.  It’s done when you say so or the paper is dry. 
8. Now you have a monoprint…
9. You can reprint from number 4 above to get a “ghost”.  Mine is below.   Next time I’ll paint into these prints with whatever comes to mind…  this is really truly mixed media.  Enjoy!

Tea Party gone digital

I had just a few minutes to do art today so I decided to play with the image digitally before attempting it again. These images are the results of my experimenting with the image in photoshop elements. This method is similar to experimenting with an acetate sheet over the painting - nothing is permanent and you get a pretty good idea what will work.
I'm pretty impressed with the results of the first stage of my editing BUT I'm pretty sure I don't have a "clone stamp" tool in my painting kit. It's neat how you can pick up the surrounding pixels and paint them over top. For example, the cut line behind the ladies was quite sharp and noticeable but after painting over it with the clone stamp tool and a watercolor brush (digital of course) it is much less noticeable.
In the second stage (layer) I picked up some of the darker pixels and used a "heavy stipple" wet media brush to to move that color around in the painting. I'm not quite sure whether this is working but it shows what can be done quickly to get an idea about the next step to take with the paper version. Enjoy!

Tea Party part 2

I found a neat copyright-free photo of 4 ladies sitting around a quilting frame working and visiting together. I printed it onto an overhead and attempted a transfer onto this monoprint using acrylic medium. As you can see, not much of the photo transferred and portions of it stuck to the surface and lifted paper when I peeled it off. I'm still getting used to the BFK Reeves paper. I find a huge difference between transferring onto bare paper and a print or painted surface. More practice I suppose...

So, on to plan B - since I damaged the paper I felt the best option left was collage. I reprinted the image onto tracing paper and used acrylic medium to collage it over top of the first mess. And now I've got other challenges... I'm going to need to creatively integrate the image into the print. I have a few ideas to try - more new territory for me. This photo shows where the piece is at this evening. I hope to have some time to work on it tomorrow so stay tuned!

Tea Party Monoprint

I worked on this monoprint over the weekend using Yupo for a printing plate. I missed taking a photo of the plate prior to printing because I was in a hurry. This first picture is the Yupo plate after I printed it - not much paint left so I would call the printing process fairly successful.
I began this project with a farm theme in mind. The trees and barn were cut out of drywall mesh and stuck on as a resist. I expected that some paint would seep down into the grid pattern as I applied it with the brayer but the paint mix must have been too dry. The sky started out blue with just a bit of purple but the dioxazine purple is so strong it overpowered the blue. So, I just went with it and played the yellow /purple compliment game. I rolled gamboge on top of the tree area. The dish pattern was done by dampening cotton lace, laying it over the painted yupo, covering with wax paper, brayering over and then lifting the wetted area with a kleenex.
This second picture shows the resulting monoprint. I left myself a decent sized light value area thinking I would do an image transfer there.
Tomorrow's post - how to nearly wreck and [hopefully] rescue a painting from disaster... stay tuned!

Abstract with Transfer

Here's another of the monoprints that I've been working to finish. The first photo is the Yupo plate just before printing - I could have left a larger opening and had a bigger image transfer... The second photo is the finished product on BFK Reeves printmaking paper. The image transfer is my Mom at about 10 years of age. I used acrylic medium to transfer the photo to the printmaking paper, then some acrylic to enhance the image in places. I also strengthened some of the areas of the monoprint with solid watercolor and various textures.

I'm becoming a bit more comfortable with abstraction but I struggle to know when I'm done ;o).

[double click on either image to see it larger]

Enjoy!

Christmas Monoprint (6"x4")

This is an monoprint plate ready for printing. I'd like a lighthearted singing snowman like this to send to my friends. I hope that this will turn out well enough to use as a Christmas card this year. Can I just say that there is no method more fun than spritzing drops of water on to a painting and then lifting them up to get an instant snow storm. We'll soon see.

I have a lot of work in the hopper and slowly but surely I'm making progress on each of them. I'm also having a blast trying various image transfer methods. Hopefully I'll become proficient enough to use them in my art.

Enjoy!

Roots Grown Down Deep (14"x11)

Have the roots of your being firmly and deeply planted in Him. Colossians 2:7 (Amplified Bible)

This is the current status of one of those monoprint starts I did 2 weeks ago. I've struggled with how to progress these things and decided to apply the same methodology I described in my "Composition 101" post earlier this week. I just needed something to get me to the next step. Sure enough, I got an idea about how to develop this one as soon as I got through step 1 (5-7 main shapes) and step 2 (value study thumbnails). Then the fun began!

I wanted a figure with head bowed and searched for that - no dice. Then I found one just about right on the net and I sketched it up on plain paper, transferred the outline to my monoprint and began painting. I began in bottom right corner and used quinacridone rose/blue mix to darken the value around the figure. In the left bottom I developed some boxes that came through on the monoprint into a checked, multi-colored area. The window was a bottle for a while - then that didn't make sense so I morphed it. And that about sums up how this business works. Synergy... one step builds on the previous and so on until you get an idea where to take the piece. I can just about here my readers' say "well, that was as clear as mud". Sorry, you either have to take my word for it or try it yourself. It's hard to describe. It feels like I'm almost done here. I'm considering whether the crossed leaf stamp in the top left is too white. I'll have another look when the sun is out to check the values. Enjoy!

Texture Samples

I'm currently working on 3 paintings based on monoprint starts. None are complete yet but I wanted to show you a couple of examples of texture I created with the stamp I carved just a few days ago.

These samples are part of a monoprint I did last weekend. The process uses Yupo (plastic paper) as a printing plate. Paint is applied to the Yupo paper and then a variety of tools are used to manipulate the paint: dry foam roller to flatten brush ridges, lifting paint with a brush, toothbrush spatter, cotton lace imprints/lifts, stamps positive and negative... if it makes a mark it can be used on the Yupo.

After the artist decides the Yupo paper printing plate is complete, printing paper (soaked for 3-5 minutes and then blotted) is laid on the plate and a baren (or flat spoon) is used to hand rub the paper. The water in the paper activates the watercolor paint on the Yupo plate and the rubbing transfers the paint to the printing paper. After the monoprint is made a second print can be done the same way but the second print is called a "ghost" and is much weaker in color and value than the monoprint. At the end of the monoprinting process there are 2 or 3 pieces that can be developed into art works; the Yupo plate, the monoprint and the ghost (if printed).

These are examples of the same stamp used positively (above left) and negatively (above right). A positive stamp is straightforward - dip the stamp in paint and press it on the paper. The negative stamp is a lifting process. A moistened stamp is applied to the Yupo plate over an area previously painted. Tissue or paper towel is laid over the wetted area, then a bit of wax paper laid atop that before rolling a brayer on top. The tissue adhers to the wet paint and when it is lifted the shape shows up in relief against the painted background. Enjoy!

Monoprint...

My first monoprint! I love the colors and how the impression of the golden light shining through the "buildings"... it's pretty abstract and I'm sure I will have some additions and changes but here's how it looked last Monday after the class.
We'll be working on more monoprints as well as progressing the artwork from the print stage to a finished painting over the next few weeks. I'm really enjoying seeing all my old painting friends from class... Enjoy!
For a short explanation of the process of monoprinting click here.