Teapot - Trace Monotype & monotype

Trace monotype with chine collé 18 x 24cm

Monotype 18 x 24 cm

Trace monotype is an excellent process for anyone who wants to try printmaking but doesn't have a press.

For the first print I pasted some pieces of different coloured paper on to my printmaking paper then I rolled oil based etching ink (your can use linoprint or other relief inks - water-based or oil) on to a piece of plexiglass of the size I wanted the finished print to be. I then laid my paper face down on the inked plexiglass plate and used a graphite pencil to sketch a still life from objects lying around in the print studio. I then peeled off the paper and there was my print on the back of my sketch. I love this method because the marks are so much more painterly than I can achieve drawing and my work is much looser because I don't get hung up on the drawing.

I was about to clean the ink off the plexiglass but I quite liked the ghost left on the plate by the pressure of the pencil through paper so I strengthened some of the marks by removing some ink with a brush or a cotton bud; sprayed a little mineral spirits for added texture and ran the plexiglass plate and a damp piece of paper through the etching press. Two prints for the price of one!

This blog has been rather neglected for the past months but I always appreciate your visits and comments. Thank you.

I wish everyone a very Happy New Year and all good things in 2011.

Monotype and a Blogger Visit

Con Sale 15 x 16cm monotype

It's been a busy week. Joan Tavolott Watercolours by Joan made a whirlwind visit from her holiday base in Venice. We walked in the hills and painted in town. Joan completed a beautiful postcard-size watercolour of a Castiglion Fiorentino alleyway. I didn't complete my painting of an old door - too busy talking! Next day I travelled as far as Florence with Joan in order to introduce her to my favourite art shop, Zecchi. Unfortunately they had closed for the August holidays. We compensated ourselves for the disappointment by buying Lamy Safari pens.

Joan also got a taste of printmaking while she was here. I found the monotype above where I left it drying weeks ago. It's a rare departure into the abstract for me.

Joan has been painting Venice at the rate of two pictures per day for the past month so her blog is a feast of little watercolour gems. Inspiring!

Gouache sketch, plus...

Neighbours' Washing
Gouache on Clairefontaine brown kraft paper

If you visit on Sunday night you are probably going to be offered leftovers. That's what this post is ... leftovers from a few days of experimenting.

That's a new Clairefontaine sketchbook above - I like the colour but it is very thin and the paint is inclined to collect on the ridges of the paper.

Another experiment - Pigma Micron 005 pen with watercolour wash on rough CP paper. It's a corner of my favourite Piazza in Florence, where I'm going to stay next weekend. So you could call this one Practice.

Hydrangea - Monotype
- Caran d'Ache Neocolor II watersoluble pastels on Japanese Ho Sho paper

Monotype - oil paint on Fabriano white paper

So, who said I have too many art supplies?!

Persimmon Monotype Print

Persimmons -Monotype 20cm x 20cm Gouache on Fabriano Paper

This is a hand-rubbed monotype of gouache transferred from a glass plate.

Unfortunately with the gorgeous ripe persimmons of autumn comes the thick, grey fog that makes it very difficult to photograph prints and my scanner has dropped out too much detail.

Persimmon Tree decked with ripe fruit.

And another - they are all over the place.

Autumn Leaves - Monotype Print

Handpulled Monotype 8cm x 24cm
Red Ochre oil based ink on cream paper

This print evolved through three steps. I inked a plexiglass plate and arranged leaves and plants I had picked up on my morning walk. I covered the plate with foil and pressed it in a book press. The first 'print' was a fun negative image on silver. I then ran the plate with the leaves still in place through the etching press and while the leaves embossed nicely there was still too much ink on the plate and the print was crude. Disappointed, I started lifting the leaves to clean the plate. That was when I discovered a delicate image traced on the plate. Through the etching press once more and above is the final result. You can click the image for more detail.

Small House Big View - watercolour sketch

14x9 cm watercolour sketchbook from Zecchi

I took gouache rather than watercolours on my morning walk and then tried to use them as watercolour washes. I don't know what I was thinking. It was very frustrating trying to mix colours and then the paper in this new sketchbook stayed damp for a long time so when I came to add some detail with ink it ran everywhere. As a result I added a little transparent watercolour when I got home.

Lately I have become very interested in monotype prints using diluted oil paint. This iris print was the first large work which was produced in three stages. The first stage I used a japanese brush to paint the iris in black oil based ink. I pulled the print and loved it. Stage two I went back to the plexiglass plate and guided by the original sketch which I'd fixed under the plate I painted in the flower and leaves. I pulled the same print through the etching press again. Less certain about the result this time. Stage three I added the background. Horrible choice of palette. I should have thought a great deal more about this. End result - very disappointing.

I'm not going to give up on this idea. Next time I'll work backwards through the three stages .

Collagraphs and Monotypes of Italian Subjects

Corso Italia Collagraph Print 14 x 22 cm

This handpulled collagraph print was developed from a sketch I made in the historic centre of our Tuscan village, Castiglion Fiorentino.

A reversed scan of my original sketch was transferred to a piece of cardboard and the outlines carved out with a sharp blade. Additional texture was made by gluing plastic net, tissue paper and pieces of scrap watercolour paper to the plate. The plate was then coated with Acrylic gloss medium and varnish and inked with black oil based etching ink. Areas of ink were wiped away before printing on C.M. Fabriano 100 percent cotton paper using an etching press.

I'm a big fan of the beautiful monotypes of Martin Stankewitz which he prints with oil paints. Since I have quite a stock of oils and have decided it's not one of my favourite mediums for painting, I got quite excited about the possibility of using up my paint for monotypes. Below is my first effort.

Venice Lagoon with San Giorgio Maggiore 8.5 x 10cm monotype

After this experiment, I'm even more excited about the potential of monotypes in oil paints. This photograph doesn't do justice to the beautiful silky finish of the paint on the paper and the result is much more painterly than I can achieve on canvas because painting onto a plexiglass plate, I don't get caught up in too much detail.

It's a lot of work for one unique print but I think I'm hooked.

Vase Still Life - Watercolour woodcut print

9.5 x 10.5cm Watercolour woodcut & monotype print

The Monotype Print

The plywood engraved and painted block after printing

This is the end of the test images. Now I'm going to work on a larger block.

If you would like to know more about the process, and see the incredibly beautiful prints of Australian artist/printmaker Cressida Campbell, you can will find it all on her website HERE.

Watercolour Woodblock Prints

Monotype Print with Engraved & Watercoloured Woodcut Block

I have finally found a way to combine my two great loves - watercolour and woodcut relief printing, thanks to a link from my dear friend, writer/painter Sally in Sydney and the technique of a fantastic Australian painter/ printmaker.

8 x 8cm block & monotype print

I kept the design of these two blocks simple because they were for test purposes and I didn't want to break my heart if they didn't work. They did work! If you click on the images you should be able to see the embossing in the larger view.

Further details tomorrow when I post a photo of the third print.

Paper Doll & Chine Collé

Monotype with rice paper chine collé

Still playing with the paper doll idea I used a chinese brush and oil based inks to paint the image on a plexiglass plate. I then added chine collé newspaper dolls and tinted rice paper and ran it through the press. Of the paper doll series, this is my favourite.

I then added some scraps of the tinted rice paper to the inked lino block below.

Endless possibilities with chine collé aren't there? Now I'm back to cutting lino again.

Paper Doll Monotype Print

24 x 32cm Monotype on Canson Montval 90lb WC paper
chine collé tinted ricepaper & newsprint

I received the key to the print studio yesterday. Better than the Key to the City, more like the Key to Heaven! This means I now have access whenever I wish to a big, fully equipped studio with two presses - one large, one small and a beautiful old book binding press that makes gorgeous lino prints in seconds. Expect me to go on rather a lot about this in future.

Carrying on with my Paper Doll series, I experimented at home today with a combination of chine collé using watercolour tinted rice paper and some newsprint. The print was made by the Direct Trace Printing method, which is believed to have been invented by Gauguin. It's a great way to use up that water-based ink I don't like. First I rolled a thin coat of black ink on to a piece of plexiglass. I then resketched the original drawing from my watercolour on to a piece of typing paper attached to the back of a sheet of 90lb watercolourpaper which I had placed face down on the inked plexiglass. When I lifted the paper the image had printed over the chine collé.

This is my first attempt at this style of monotype. The rice paper picked up the ink beautifully but the transfer was less successful on the watercolour paper. I was too nervous to dampen the watercolour paper incase it absorbed too much of the ink from the plate. Next time I think I will cover the whole piece of paper with plain rice paper and any other collage can be applied on top.