Supply List
Paints:
I use Golden Open Acrylics because they stay workable longer than regular acrylic paints. But feel free to use any brand of these colours…or select your own colour range and be creative.
• C.P. Cadmium Yellow Medium
• Ultramarine Blue
• Quinacridone Magenta
• Titanium White
Gel Plate:
Here I’m using a 6×6 inch gel plate but use any size you have…and if you don’t have a gel plate you could search the internet for instructions on making your own or you could try using a piece of Plexiglas.
Registration system:
See video of the system I use. I’ve noticed there are also commercial grade systems available now. And I’ve also included a short video on a using a taped hinge if you have neither of the other registration systems.
Printmaking paper:
The type of paper is important. You’ll be pulling several layers of colour and thinner paper (like printer paper, Japanese paper, tissues) will not stand up to the constant layering. If you’re serious about creating monotype landscape art, invest in good quality printmaking paper available at any art supply store. The sheets can be expensive but you can get about six 6×6” prints from a 22×30 inch sheet of paper. I use Rising Stonehenge paper.
Brushes:
Any shape or size. You’ll see in the video I use a 3” house painting brush to apply most of the layers.
Other Items:
• Palette knife – one large (about 2 inches long) and one small (1 inch long)
• Small brayer (roller) hard or soft
• New this month: willow charcoal, kneaded eraser and a blending stump
• Water bucket and water
• Towels to dry off the brushes after cleaning them in water.
Colour Chart
Print these templates (see button above) on card stock to create a durable surface to apply acrylic paint.
For this colour chart, we’re creating some cool colours that will work with our current blue-dominant design.
You’ll see in the video how to take primary colours, right from the paint tube, and make several blue-dominant colours and values(meaning there’s more blue in the colour mixes than any of the other colours).
This isn’t the only cool colour chart you can make. You can also use the same pure colours at the top of the chart and make green or violet charts. But since our project this month is blue, I put the emphasis on creating a variety of blues.
Keep in mind that all colour swatches can change depending on how much of each colour you add. So your chart may not look like mine – but it will be YOURS, and that’s the important thing.
Note: when I create the colour chart I start with the pigmented paint and add the white. When you actually mix the colour to use on your print, start with the white and add bits of the other colours. This will save you the waste and cost of using too much white paint.
You don’t actually need to create a colour chart before you produce your monotype. But the chart will provide you with some freedom to explore colour variations and perhaps to try some different colour combinations. You might want to build your design using colour values that are different than mine while still keeping the monotype cool. I kinda like the blue violets I created in the bottom row of my colour chart!
This is the beauty of a colour chart. It provides flexibility in your colour choices.
If you punch holes in the side of your chart and store each chart in a binder, you’ll have an amazing source of colour samples to help inspire you
Instructions
These are the steps to create the featured monotype. Remember, you can use these colours as a suggestion…they’ll help you with the placement of light and dark versions of your colour choice.
If you use paints other than Golden Open Acrylic, and you’re welcome to do so, the acrylic may dry quickly on your gel plate. You may need to work a little bit faster or, you could lightly mist the gel plate with water just before you pull the print…but only do that if the paint has dried on the plate.
And also remember, every layer of paint you apply to the gel plate will print backwards on your monotype. So just be aware.
Here are the instructions for this months monotype:
1. In a puddle of white add touches of blue and yellow (mostly blue) to create a soft blue background. Add bits of colour to the white until you create a soft, slightly warm blue tone.
2. Using an old bristle brush (which creates texture that transfers to the prints) brush this colour over the entire plate. This will be the sky and the river. Apply the colour thinly then pull the print.
3. Use leftover paint from above or mix a little more of that colour. Add more blue and white to the mix to create a lightly darker blue colour. Brush onto the plate from the top of the plate down about two inches. Keep the bottom edge very soft so it blends into the background colour. Pull the print.
4. Make a slightly darker version of the colour in step 3 using mostly blue. This will be the final, darkest colour of the sky. We’re creating aerial perspective here with the lightest colours in the distance and the darkest colours closest to you. Brush this colour at the top of the plate working down about one inch. Remembers to keep the bottom edge soft and feathery.
5. Next we’ll work on the tree line in the middle of the print. If you have some sky colour left on your palette add a little bit of yellow and blue to create a soft, muted green/blue colour. Paint this on the gel plate with a small brush and pull the print.
6. Now for the foreground. Start with a fresh puddle of white and add bits of blue and yellow until you get a colour similar to your tree line colour. Then add more blue to this mix to create a darker version of the colour. Since this is in the foreground, the closest to you, this will be the darkest colour on the print.
7. Brush this colour onto the foreground leaving some thin and some slightly thicker areas of paint that will add to the final texture of the print. Brush this same colour onto the bottom of the tree line. Brush it randomly, thick and thin and broken lines. And keep it short and close to the bottom of the tree line. This is simply done to create some visual interest in the tree line. Pull the print.
8. Add a little of the foreground colour and some yellow to a fresh puddle of paint. Using a small palette knife add this colour to the bottom of the tree line and the top edge of the foreground. Pull the print.
9. We’re finished with the printmaking. You can stop here if you’d like, but in the next step, we’ll add a tree and some shadow areas using charcoal to create more interest.
10. Sketch the tree outline softly with charcoal.
11. Apply charcoal to the tree trunk sparingly and gently then start applying the charcoal to the foliage. Use a circular motion leaving heavier and lighter deposits of charcoal. This will create some thick and thin layers of charcoal on the foliage make the tree look more realistic than a flat layer of black would.
12. Use the stump in a circular motion to soften and blend the charcoal. Work the edges from the inside of the foliage to the outside to ensure soft edges.
13. Add shadows and soften with stump.
14. Stretch you kneaded eraser to warm it up a bit then dab the eraser onto the left side of the foliage, round the edges of the cast shadow from the tree and along the edges of the shadows under the landforms. This will soften and lighten the black a bit and create variations of value.