Here’s a seven minute video for you showing how I make my landscape monoprints. If you want some hands on experience, I’m offering a monoprinting studio class on Oct. 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Email for more info: bob@bobpennycook.com
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In my last blog post I mentioned I wanted to spend most of this year exploring printmaking. I haven’t worked with prints on an ongoing basis for a number of years.
I used to create monoprints on an etching press, but once I left school and a former art studio, I had no access to a press to create the prints. About four years ago I discovered the Gelli Arts® Plates, a gelatin-like substrate used for monoprinting. Add paint to the plate, create a little mark-making, and the image transfers to paper beautifully. I’d been playing with this printmaking technique for a few years, in between creating paintings. But for this year, I’ve decided to work mostly using the monoprinting technique.
To strengthen my commitment, a few weeks ago I was asked to be part of the Gelli Arts® design team, a chance to work, creative and publish my monoprinting ideas. The photo above shows all the design team members for 2018. We’ll all be publishing concepts, projects over on the Gelli Arts® blog this year and will pop up in the company’s facebook and Instagram feeds as well. And over on the right side of this blog, there’s a “buy” button for the gel plate. If you find you have an urge to create monoprints inspired by your own ideas or any future posts on this blog, you can use this “buy” button and save 10 per cent on your purchase. Just to be clear, this is an affiliate link and I will receive some payment for any purchases made using this “buy” button. But it’s an easy way to get started monoprinting.
I’ve been working a bit on Yupo paper recently and the print below is one of those I just finished. The first image shows a lot of random layers of colour printed using the plate and the second image shows how I added and removed colour to create a poppy garden.
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Late last year I felt I needed a change to my daily routine. I spend as many days in the studio each week as I can, painting. But I wanted to create a different approach to my art his year.
I’ve been creating monotypes/monoprints for several years now as a hobby, I guess. Whenever I’m not painting and I feel I need a break, I’ll produce a print or two.
But for this year, at least for the first half of the year, the emphasis will be on printmaking, particularly monoprinting. I want to see how far I can take it. I want to create mixed media art with prints, paint and pencils….just to see what happens.
The image above is a recent small print. It’s 6×6″. I did this print specifically for the video below simply to show process. It’s a quick, three-minute video Have a look. Hope you enjoy.
There are a couple of new spring studio classed listed under “Workshop/classes” page above.
I’ve also added some new prints to the “portfolio: prints” page above.
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Monoprinting is offset printing. You apply paint to a substrate (in this case, a gel plate) then lay some paper on top of the substrate, apply a little pressure, and transfer the paint to the paper. Repeat this step many times and you have a layered, multi-colored original print.
Some residual paint is almost always left behind on the plate after printing a layer of color. And I like to use that residual paint to my advantage. What’s left on the plate becomes a guide for subsequent color layers. I’ve broken out some of the steps for this 3″ x 5″ print (above) to show you how I can start, with just one overall color and no plan for a final image, and allow some of the residual paint to guide my design.
The image above shows what’s left after I printed a layer of Quinacridone Magenta. By the way, I use Golden Open Acrylics, both for my monoprints and my acrylic paintings. The paints are slow drying – so they won’t dry on the surface while I’m slowly thinking of what the next step should be. The paints also give me the freedom to mix colors directly on the plate (and often on the paper as well). I try to use lighter, brighter, transparent colors for the first layer.
The photo above shows the sky left on the plate after printing. I brush mixed a few colors to make the sky and those colors mixed with the magenta on the plate to create a violet cast to the sky.
With a small, flat brush and some Transparent Red Oxide I created the mid ground – and this is what was left after printing. With the remnants of the sky paint still on the plate, I could see where to place the Oxide to let some of the magenta show through at the top of the mid ground.
With an old bristle brush and a little Sap Green, I added the foreground. The image above is what’s left after printing the first layer of the foreground. I used this color to register subsequent foreground color layers without having to guess about placement.
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