Tuesday, October 09, 2007

More Monoprinting



I am returning the monoprinting equipment to Diane at our life class tomorrow so I thought I'd grab another quick session today.



...And the token self portrait, of course!



In my last monoprinting post, a few of my regular, wonderful visitors: EJ, Serena and Robyn asked me to share a little more about the process I used.
So, here is the set up, complete with caffeine.
A piece of Plexiglas with black watercolour ink rolled onto it with a small ink roller.
I gently place the paper over the top of the inked surface (Newsprint or something thin will work best) and then draw on my image with a pencil, turning the pencil onto it's side for heavier lines. Try not to lean on the surface too much as the pressure will leave a print, I held my pencil at the top and worked very quickly.
I then peeled my paper off the surface and VOILA...a monoprint!

This process is very new to me too so I researched it a little and discovered there are other methods.
I really enjoyed making these, I found it very freeing and would definitely invest in a tube of ink and a roller myself...Another item for the Christmas list!

9 comments:

Robyn Sinclair said...

Many thanks, Anita for sharing that. I have all the equipment, now I just need to see if I can work quickly enough to make a picture before the ink dries. Your self portrait is terrific.

Anita Davies said...

Robyn Thankyou!
The ink stays wet for some time. I made all of the studies in this post from the same ink application, just rolled it around a little again after each one to spread it out and remove the imprint from the plexi. The reason I work fast is because I don't want to lean on the paper so the way I hold the pencil drives me to work quickly and loose but I imagine you could take as much time as you feel you need. :)

Nina Johansson said...

Wow. I´ve seen other techniques for monoprints, but never this one. Thanks for sharing. I like the "smudges" you get from the ink around the drawings, makes the prints look a bit worn... I definitely have to try this some time!

Anonymous said...

This is a marvelous technique. I've always wanted to try producing prints, but it always seemed so complicated. This looks feasible even for me! OH, and I've finally got my hands on some of that Noodlers ink...now all I have to do is find time to use it...

Anita Davies said...

Nina that's the bit I liked, all the smudges. It makes it look like you spent much longer on the piece than you actually did, giving you lots of value for your time.
It's so exciting peeling the paper back because you never really know what you're going to get.

Anita Davies said...

It's such a simple process isn't it Dave!
Glad to hear you've got hold of some Noodler's, can't wait to see what you do with it.

Serena Lewis said...

Thank you so much for explaining the process in more depth, Anita. Very much appreciated.

These look great....love the self-portrait!

Anonymous said...

Great work! I can really see the progress in your self-portraits and this a monoprint even. Inspiring!

Anonymous said...

Anita, these works are amazing, they are so beatifully drawn, and like everyone else, i agree the smudges really set the pieces off.
I am studying at the College of West Anglia, and whilst have been taught monoprinting, this method you have described i have never heard of before. To me, it seems to be a much more effective way to get fine detail into the print. a very well done to you! i will certainly be trying this method to add to my project sketchbook!