Monotype Day - The Grand Army

Saturday was a day of monotype printing.  I can't believe I haven't touched a press since May, that's the longest period of time I've gone without printing in three years.

 

I've missed working on montypes, especially at Rob's studio.  The light is right, the music is going, and I get to drink tea while trying to make some magic happen. 

I always get asked how I obtain some of my marks, there's no magical tool, just some hog bristle brushes of different shapes.  The brush above is a da Vinci brush for plein air painting, series 7707, size 6.  The bristles are long and flexible enough that they create the long grass effect when you swipe upwards.  

The first couple of prints and their ghosts chilling on the leather couch.  I love this shot!

Above is a short video of how I use a clay shaper/paint eraser to wipe away areas that need harder edges. Eventually I go over some of the areas with a soft synthetic bush to soften them. This tool is perfect for drawing, in this case the texture of tree trunks.

Above I'm working on another plate, getting that grass effect with da Vinci plein air brush series 7407, filbert. After years of use this brush no longer looks like a filbert, it has now turned into a bright, which just like the round helps to create grass effects.

This is the moment of truth, putting the plate through the press and crossing your fingers hoping that the print will turn out alright. Sometimes the paper doesn't absorb all the ink you get very light spots, sometimes the opposite happens when it absorbs too much and it prints extremely dark causing the loss of details. In this case, I was very pleased with the outcome. The prints from this session will be posted next week, come back and check them out.