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I experimented with four different media this week – colored pencil, monotype, oil painting, and sketching with ink and watercolor.
Archives (page 5 of 12)
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Yesterday was the only day I had this week for art. In the morning I joined the Salem Sketchers at Mt. Angel Abbey, and before dinner I did a small monotype.
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This week I made a new monotype plate with liquid rubber and tested it. I also ventured into using color, and yesterday I tried doing a monotype on location at a Paint the Town event.
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This week I continued to experiment with monotypes. I discovered a fun way to do monotypes on YouTube that is fast and easy and cheap. You can see the how-to here:
Basically you ink up a plastic bag, place it over your paper, and rub the back of the bag to transfer ink to the paper. I rubbed with my finger, a cotton swab, and a sharpened wooden match stick to make marks and areas of tone. You can also scrape ink off the bag before you print to make white marks. You can lift the bag off the paper to see how things are going and put it back down again to continue.
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I discovered that what I’ve been calling “Monoprints” are actually called “Monotypes”. Monoprints are prints made by reworking already existing printing plates. Monotypes are one of a kind prints made from scratch by painting on a glass or plexiglass plate, which is what I’ve been doing.
Each day this week I tried something new. I experimented with various media on different papers using new techniques.
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This week I did four monoprints. I also did a colorful plein air sketch at the annual Paint the Town potluck.
Often I don’t have much time to work on art projects. Monoprints are a fun alternative to drawing and painting and they can be made quickly and easily.
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A sketch is a visual memo to remember an experience. It doesn’t have to be detailed or even accurate. Lately I’ve been exploring various media (pencils, crayons, markers, gel sticks, and brush pens) looking for a small set of materials that is easy to carry, drys fast, doesn’t smudge, and works as a kind of shorthand to capture shapes, values, textures, and color.
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This week I got a new set of Tombow Dual Brush pens. They have a fine point at one end and a nylon brush tip at the other. The ink is watersoluble and looks like watercolor if you spread it with a wet brush. The first sketch I did tested all the colors on watercolor paper.
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I’m always looking for faster ways to sketch with fewer tools to carry. This week I experimented with a variety of methods and materials and compared results.
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This week I’ve been exploring additional ways to sketch and paint directly without doing any underdrawing first. It’s harder to do, but it is quicker and it produces a livelier sketch. It’s tricky to get a good result because you have to develop the composition and layout as you go instead of planning it out ahead of time and it is quicker because you are leaving out a step. As with anything, the more you practice the better you get.