Going Large

Over the last few months I have been gradually working on some larger prints, using the same monoprinting techniques that I have used in my recent work.  However working at a larger scale introduces all sorts of additional challenges.

The first aspect was accessing the equipment in the studio to see what was feasible.  Some of the larger screens had not been used for a while so needed a bit of sprucing up to get ready.  Then the squeegees, what sizes were available, there was one at 90cm long and that proved to be the determining factor in the maximum size that could be printed. 

So I prepared a screen and exposed an 85 x 85 cm square to work with for the monoprinting area, as the squeegee needs to extend beyond the area being printed.  The smaller prints I had been working on before we just 30 x 30 cm so this was quite an increase.  Also required were larger brushes – off to the DIY store for some 3 & 4 inch brushes.

An image with two layers of colour already printed

Working at this size to start with was also a bit intimidating, it is a large area to cover and you need to be quite quick so the ink does not dry before printing.  With the screen on the printing bed, I could only just reach the top of the image when painting.  It also took a few tries to get the printing action right with a full even image across the pull.

The screen ready to print with the third layer of colour

So it was a case of persevering with it but I got there in the end and will be showing a couple of canvases at our Summer Exhibition which opens this Friday evening.

'A Certain Kindness'

Mono-printing Workshop

Dorset Art Weeks are continuing here at Othona. We have now have about 350 visitors over 5 days so everyone is still very upbeat about how the event is going.

While the Exhibition is going on everyday life at Othona continues so there are some residential visitors staying for the week, enjoying all the benefits that the place provides. As part of this weeks stay they have had the chance to get involved with some artistic activities. On Monday morning Elizabeth led a drawing session and yesterday I led a monoprinting workshop. Seven people enjoyed experimenting with some monoprinting and making use of some local foliage and seaweed to print from as well as more conventional textured paper or mark making along the way.

Everyone hard at work

We worked in the Art Room, which is a wooden hut in the grounds, which is now over 20 years old and getting a little past its sell by date, though still proving a light and airy place to work in. Plans are in place to replace it soon with a new slightly larger and environmentally sensitive building that can be used more flexibly. Money raised from the exhibition will heading towards the building fund.

This weeks guests will be off tomorrow and then some families will be staying over half-term and they will get the chance to transform the outside of the art room by painting a mural.

The Surrey Open Art Competition

The Lightbox in Woking is currently hosting the Surrey Open Art Competition which takes place there every two years.  I am happy to say that my entry, along with those of six other members of Ochre Studios were accepted and are now on display until 13th May.

Just over 60 works were chosen from around 300 entries so the studio has done well so have so many representatives.

The work I entered is below, it is a silkscreen monoprint on canvas.

#799

Happy New Year

A New Year and this week the studio has been fully active again, with new screenprinting and relief printing courses underway.  Preparations are also taking place for an exhibition next month at the Cranleigh Arts Centre. 

After a few weeks off it was good to get back in the studio and carry on working on the monoprints that I have been experimenting with.  In the week before Christmas I had started to print on some canvas.  The differences from paper are subtle but noticeable.  It takes more of the ink than paper but I have found that it is necessary to print a bit firmer because the texture of the canvas means that a light touch results in missed areas.  So it is a fine balance between pushing firm enough to transfer the image, and not too hard resulting in the ink running further than wanted.

The first canvas I tried was quite a coarse weave so I have also tried a finer weave as well which does hold the details better.  The primer on the canvas also seems brighter than the paper I was using so the quality of the colour changes as well.  All of these factors can make quite a difference to the overall print.

Having finished the first couple of prints on the canvas I have also stretched them on to canvas.  The end result is very satisfying as they create an interesting perceptive twist.  The monoprinting style shows that the ink is brushed on, but the actual printing creates a flat surface.  Being on canvas as well then makes it quite hard to see if the image is printed or painted.

I have been working simultaneously on paper and canvas with similar images, I know its hard with a photo but see if you can tell the difference.   Overall I feel the canvas prints are stronger and look forward to trying some on a larger scale.

A Few Circles

Following on from my initial experiments with the monoprinting with the screenprints, I decided to do a small series of prints to investigate further what happens with the colours.  I ended up doing around 30 prints of circles.  Using a number of background layers and then overprinting these with a set of second colours it resulted in a whole matrix of possibilities.

Below are a few of the results.   It has been a fascinating process because it has revealed some of the potential depths of colours that can be achieved with overprinting that do not come out in the same way with a single print.  It opens up a whole new range of possibilities for working with this approach which I’m looking forward to trying in the New Year.

                                                                           

Second Layer

First Layers                                                                                               Results

Layers of Colour

It may have been a while since I last posted but that is partly because so much has been happening in the work that I just want to keep working at it.  However it is time to take stock a little and review the recent activity.  So I’ll just start with one piece that reflects what has been happening and save some of the others for later.

Since the first attempts with the monoprinting with the screen I have been experimenting further and also building up layers of colour to see how they mix and deepen. So the picture below shows a first print.

This was then followed with a print similar to this.

The combined effect becomes as follows

The second coat of crimson in the lower half really enriches the turquoise in the first layer.  While the yellow mutes the purple it turns the turquoise into a glowing green.

I then finished with the same line imagery as ealier, but also using different colours within the print.

These early results have been encouraging and I am following them up and will show more later.

Further Adventures with Monoprint

After my miniatures, I thought it was time to be more adventurous with some larger pictures.  These images are 54cm by 42cm, so not huge but quiet a step up from before and do present some more interesting technical challenges.  You have to be quite swift in applying the paint, so not to have problems with paint drying in the screen, and firm with the squeegee when printing not to miss areas, but it comes together after a few goes.  So far I have been using two drawn images in the foreground which have blends in them though on one run it ended up looking like a single colour.  These are the effects of the combining layers of paint sometimes balancing out. 

I am enjoying the monoprinting side as it is very free and interesting accidents happen along the way as the paint moves on the screen.  It is all a learning process at this stage particularly with the colours.  In particular I’m interested in seeing how the two layers of changing colour enhance or distract from the movements already present within the drawings.  See what you think.

Monoprints

Well I have been playing again, sorry testing new ideas, but it is a form of play really.  Trying out blends and monoprinting on the screen for some backgrounds and then overlaying some drawings to see how they interact.

Both the blends and the monoprints give unanticipated results.  Though you may be aiming to achieve something, until it is actually printed through the screen you cannot be completely sure what will arrive.  The blends are more predictable, but even then surprises happen.

The monoprinting from the screen provides quite a painterly result that I would never be able to produce by directly painting.  It is achieved by lightly brushing ink onto the screen before printing with the squeegee which inevitably moves some of the ink as it passes over.  Hence some of the unpredictability.  However that is what makes it all rather exciting and unpredictable.  I’ll have to try some larger ones next.

Using mirrored versions of the same small drawing and then overlapping them also produces some fascinating results and new conversations take place between them and different images appear.