The Monoprint Monologues: Day#3

Beginning to get a degree of consistency, and you'll be glad to know this is the last of the black block-printing ink. Tomorrow I will try my luck will colour!
First print made by inking the glass plate, laying a clean sheet over it, and tracing over a previous drawing to pick up the ink where I have pressed with my hand. It looks like I've picked up too much ink (the measel dots were intentionally made with my fingertips) but of course you've no idea what you are going to get exactly till you peel the cartridge sheet away. I call this: "Wheesht!"

The second print was made in the same way but this time I have managed to get a cleaner print. Not quite sure why but at least the light areas are whiter and the scribbled background cleaner.
The joke is that I tried to sign the image while it was still on the plate and got the "s" back to front. Typical!
Third print is perhaps the cleanest yet, although I have no idea why!

It must have been because I didn't press too heavily and only picked up ink (mostly) where I overdrew with the lead pencil.

With a fair amount of ink left on the plate I took a final 'ghost' print of the session and instead of using my hand I used the back of a wooden spoon, as recommended in my printmaking handbook: 'Monoprinting' by Jackie Newell & Dee Whittington.

As you see, it might have worked for Dee, but it didn't work for Mee!

Anyway, even if it was taxing at times, and regardless of my doubts about it's efficacy, it is indeed fun to do. We'll see what delights colour brings to the party tomorrow!

The Vagrant Monoprints: Day #2

Up to my elbows in printing ink, Day #2 starts with an image painted directly onto the plate with a brush (copied by eye from an existing painted image). Not too happy with the way the ink separates but lay a sheet of cartridge paper over it anyway and press down with my hand:

Sure enough - it's a bit what we would call in these parts "scabby"! I keep in mind it is all a learning experience, but I won't do that again, certainly not with this type of ink. Start again:

Now we're whistlin' Dixie! After inking the plate and placing a sheet of clean cartridge paper over it I re-draw over the top of a tracing of the original and use my fingers to press down where I think important. That's what the big dollopey blotches are. It's got a certain je ne sais quoi with measels! But a vast improvement on the previous ones. There's still so much ink left on the plate I make a "ghost" print:
Obviously less distinct but usable in the way I have read Degas used certain prints as a base for some of his pastels. We'll see. With that "success" I try again, this time working on the backside of my tracing which brings the image back to something like the original:

Oops, missed one line of the left arm but not bothered as it creates a bit of ambiguity which I like. Got some reservations, but I press on! I read somewhere else ( I do a lot of reading!) that Neocolours can be used effectively for monoprinting, and since these water-soluable pastels are a great favourite of mine I think I will give it a go. Having drawn my image directly onto the plate I immediately have misgivings: I don't believe the dry pastels will transfer adequately. So I spray some water over it then take a print:

The result is a ghostly image which I quite like probably because of the colour but it really isn't good or strong enough as an image. Perhaps this can be worked over with pastels to make a better image.

Which brings me to the BIG problem I am having niggling away at the back of my mind:

WHAT'S THE POINT OF ALL THIS?

Why not just draw your image, in colour, onto a sheet of paper and be done with all this faffing about?

I'm sure you are about to tell me, so I am all ears!

Please note: There will be a two day hiatus while I go off and celebrate my 60th birthday (whatever happened to that callow youth with the skinny waist? I can hardly see my feet now!)

Back on Sunday with the next installment!

Monoprinting Discoveries: Day #1

For those of you with a nervous disposition (for now I accept that I do in fact have more than one reader) LOOK AWAY NOW!!!

As though I didn't have enough to keep me amused I now launch the Good Ship Cornelius onto a new venture: MONOPRINTING.
I have threatened this for some time now and even spoke to Andrea about it when she visited these shores a few weeks ago (she is good at it and I have much to learn from her).

So here are my very first attempts at this type of imagemaking: Having bought a single tube of Daler Rowney Block Printing water-based ink my first attempt (shown above) was simply inking a 24x30cm sheet of plain glass with a rubber brayer which I already had in my possession, and drawing a design with an old felt pen through the ink. As you see it was an unmitigated failure!
Second attempt (shown below) is not a lot better, but I kinda like it. It was simply done when inking the plate and stopping mid roller when I saw the image as it was. I thought:"Hey, that looks interesting!":

Well maybe not!

Final image for the day was made after inking up the plate I dragged a wet sponge down the plate and thought:"Hey (again), not bad. I like it!" and "This is the kind of thing I see in the Glasgow Print Studio selling for a couple of hundred pounds", "If they can do it, then so can I!"

Don't worry, tomorrow it will get better, I assure you!