Monoprints

Monoprinting (or monotype), is a process of painting or rolling out layers of colour, then removing some of it, moving it around, in order to take one single impression of an image. It is an old technique which used to depend on a sheet of glass and mostly used printer’s ink or oil paint. 

Gelli plates are a much easier approach. For a start, they are ideally suited to acrylic paints of all types. Acrylic loves more acrylic, and the silicone gel the plate is made of is very happy to let go of  the paint, if you press a sheet of paper into the wet top layer. They come in different sizes and I absolutely do not have to worry about smashed glass!

These five images were made using stencils, another way of stopping the paint touching certain areas, so you get a pattern. At first I used bought stencils, which are often very decorative. As I got more used to this process (with the excellent and thorough tuition of Sally Hirst), I decided to cut my own stencils. I tried acetate, found it highly unpleaasant to cut, and moved on to Dura-lar (I bought it from Jacksons). This amazing stuff comes in sheets and will easily accept a pencil drawing. It can then be cut with a craft knife. I have here, a number of swirly tangle shapes and, in the case of the brown vessels image, some mid-century modern rectangles. All the stencils, even the circles and the vessels are hand-drawn and cut. This is part of my artistic process and I like the handmade feel. 

I use bright slow-drying acrylics, in several layers. My favourite is the one with the vessels. I thing various shaped pots are going to be a theme in my work over the next year or so. they have already popped up in sketchbook paintings.

In one or two of the pictures, especiallly the pink circles, I continued to work on the surface even after I had pulled the print. At an earlier stage, I had added texture  by pressing some corrugated paper into the surface or the wet paint. I added varying tones of colour to these marks. I also painted into the surface of the Turquoise Tangle.

All five of these images, beautifully framed by local framer Marie Gower, are available on the Pricing page.