Traditional and digital art

Category: Printmaking (page 1 of 3)

Mini Prints

Mini Prints
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This is an experiment to see if I can use a sheet of Sintra PVC 3mm 1/8 inch foam board as a printing plate. I was surprised how well it worked. I curved it with standard lino cutting tools. It is fairly easy to cut and holds detail as well as linoleum. It looks a lot like battleship gray linoleum, but it is a lot cheaper. I think I paid around $1.50 for a 12×12 inch sheet. Linoleum would cost around $5.00. Here’s what the carved plate looks like.

Mini Plate
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I printed the plate by hand using a baren. I printed on inkjet paper with water soluble printing ink. Each image is 2.3×2.8 inches (60×72 mm).

Jim

Collage Textures and Masks

Monotype Experiments

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This week I made a monotype collage, experimented with masks and with various ways to make interesting textures. I also made a larger flexible membrane plate. My initial setup was made to do 8×10 inch monotypes. My new one can do up to 12×18, which is the largest size I can scan.

I began the week with an idea. I could print multiple monotypes and paste them together to create a larger piece. I could either do this digitally on the computer or I could glue them together in a traditional collage. I decided to try it on the computer first. That way I could experiment with where to make the cuts, but first I had to make multiple monotypes.

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Watercolor and Trace Monotypes

Watercolor and Trace Monotypes

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This week I experimented with using watercolor on a membrane plate and with doing trace monotypes. These techniques have a long history. Degas did a lot of monotypes as did some of the other Impressionists. I particularly like Degas’s landscapes and his use of pastel over monotype.

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Three Monotypes

Three Monotypes

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This week I experimented with augmenting monotypes by adding additional media by hand after printing. I added crayon and white ink to the water garden, I added white gouache trees over the acrylic monotype background, and I added some black ink with a brush pen to the black and white monotype.

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Flowers Landscapes and Sketches

Flowers Landscapes and Sketches

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This week I tried new approaches to monotypes and sketching. The nasturtiums are still blooming. So, I photographed them with my phone and used the photos as reference for a crayon sketch and a monotype. I then tackled a larger monotype of Ankeny wetland using what I’ve learned so far. Then mid-week I got a new set of Qor watercolors and tried them out on a series of small sketches, and finally today I did another monotype of the Painted Hills in Eastern Oregon using a new technique.

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A Wealth of Flowers

Flowers Monotype

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This week I did a monotype using a different paint. It is Holbein Acryla Gouache. I like it better than Golden Open Acrylic. It dries to a nice matte finish and is more opaque.

Strathmore 400 Series Printmaking paper 11×14 inches (27.9×35.6 cm), Holbein Acryla Gouache mixed with Golden Retarder on a Saran Wrap plate. Image is 8×10 inches (20.3×25.4 cm).

I worked in multiple passes. I dried each layer with a hairdryer before printing the next layer. Normally this gouache dries too quickly to use as a printmaking ink. I added some acrylic retarder to slow the dry time so that I could manipulate the paint on the plate.

About half way through I almost quit. The paint was not behaving the way I wanted it to, but I kept at it. I’m glad I did because it turned out better than what I had in mind. Paint is your partner. It will do wonderful things if you let it. Collaboration is better than control.

Jim

A Couple of Monotypes

Two Monotypes

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This week I experimented with two new printmaking techniques. The first one used a framed flexible plastic membrane plate setup that I designed and built myself. For the second one I tried using parchment paper as a plate.

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Four Works

Four Works

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I experimented with four different media this week – colored pencil, monotype, oil painting, and sketching with ink and watercolor.

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