Traditional and digital art
Traditional and digital art.
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Some art projects start with a “What if…” question. This morning I wondered, “what would happen if I used a retarder in acryla gouache to slow the dry time enough to use it to make a multi-color monoprint”? So, I made this little monoprint as a test.
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I did another 8×10 monoprint today. This time I combined gouache and watercolor pencil on the sanded plexiglass plate. I then transferred the pigments to paper. I soaked the paper for about 10 minutes, drained it, blotted it so it was damp, placed it over the plate, taped it in place at one end, and rolled over the back with a soft rubber brayer. l also rubbed the back with a stainless steel soup spoon. I was impressed with how well everything transferred to the paper. It held all the fine pencil line detail.
Hand sanded plexiglass plate 8×10 inches (20.3×25.4 cm), Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media 9×12 inch (23×30.5 cm) paper, Schmincke Horadam gouache, Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils, Arteza flat waterbrush, and a bit of Dr. Ph. Martin’s Pen White ink in a Molotow 2mm empty marker.
Jim
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I’m experimenting today with different monoprint techniques. I used a sanded plexiglass plate for this one. Previously I’ve been using overhead transparencies. The plexiglass is sanded so that it can hold watercolor and watersoluble colored pencils.
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This is my first plein air painting of the season. I drove over to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm east of us this morning and spent about an hour and a half walking through the fields and working on this painting. It was beautiful weather and not too crowded in the middle of the week. I was the first one to park in the far lot. This year they planted the south fields. I walked down the east side and picked a somewhat isolated spot to sit and paint. I was looking west with the sun at my back.
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This is my second monoprint. The process I used was to draw and scrape back watersoluble media on an overhead transparency film and then use a roller on the back of a wet piece of paper placed over the overhead to transfer the media to the paper.
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This is my first monoprint. The process is my own invention. I started by drawing on overhead transparency film with wet-erase markers. Here is what the finished overhead looked like backed with white paper.
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I’d like to use my paint sticks while painting on location, but I’m not sure what paper to use. This is a test to see how the paint sticks work on rough watercolor paper. I drew this in the studio from a reference photo I took at the Wooden Shoe Tulip farm northeast of us.
I like working loose on this larger paper, but I’m not crazy about all the texture. I think I’ll stick to a smooth hot press paper.
Strathmore Series 400 rough watercolor paper, Mod Paint Sticks, Faber-Castel Gel Sticks, and Arteza flat waterbrush. Image is roughly 9×15 inches (23×38 cm).
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I’ve been reading Alphonso Dunn’s book “Pen & Ink Drawing” which I checked out from the library. I used his basic technique of starting by outlining the basic shapes, then drawing in secondary shapes and the outlines of shadows, and finally filling in the shadow forms. He uses crosshatching to fill in the shadows. I used ink washes instead.
Once you put ink down on the page there is no going back. So, you better have a plan. A good method is to use an underdrawing. Most people do one in pencil, but it is always hard to erase the pencil without smudging the ink. I like to work without a pencil underdrawing. The way I did that with this drawing was to trace a photo onto overhead transparency film, backlight the film placed under my drawing paper, and use the rough tracing as an underdrawing. Here is what my tracing setup looked like.
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I’m testing Faber-Castell Gel Sticks. These watercolors in gel form are meant for kids. They are like a twistable crayon and come in a set of 12 colors. I thought I would try them out on a flower sketch.
Fabriano 8×10 inch (20.3×25.4 cm) Studio Watercolor Hot Press paper, Faber-Castell 12 Gels Sticks, Arteza flat waterbrush, Molotow 2mm Empty Pump Marker filled with Dr. Ph. Martin’s Pen White.
Jim
Today I’m practicing sketching with tempera paint sticks and colored brush markers on paper.
9×12 inches (23×30.5 cm) Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media paper, pencil, Mod Paint Sticks, Arteza Real Brush pens, Arteza flat waterbrush, and Molotow empty marker filled with Dr. Ph. Martin’s Pen White ink. Each picture is about 4×5.5 inches (10×14 cm).
Jim