Mono Printing - Materials and Techniques

Victoria & Albert
6"X8 1/2"
Monoprint on BFK

Thanks to everyone who visited yesterday's post. Lots of questions about some of the materials and techniques I used for the monoprint. Would like to follow up and answer those questions and provide a bit more detail. Will try to keep this to a reasonable length! So, I cannot take credit for all the info shared in this post. I attended a 5 day monoprint workshop in the mid 90's with Canadian artist Jeremy Mayne and this info is from notes I took during the workshop. I have done some of my own experimenting with materials and pigments but the basics were generously shared by Jeremy during the workshop.

I use water based materials for monoprinting. (easy to clean up, not as toxic as some materials) Mainly gouache (has good viscosity, stickier, tackier and can turn transparent once printed), sometimes watercolour (depends on the colour - quins print well), any water soluble pencils (will print, but not putting down a lot of pigment, good for working back into the print), crayons and inks, graphite sticks (4B or higher if you want to print), chalk pastels (use a good quality, can grate and rub on). You can give water soluble oils a try, but you must print them while still moist. If you use a non-soluble material (ex. ink) it will not not print and will act as a resist. **Put more pigment on than you think you will need. There are lots of interesting water based materials available and I would encourage you to experiment and have some fun.

I use a metal plate for my support - off set litho sheets will last a lifetime. You can use wood (have to seal first), plexiglass (cannot leave paint on for any length of time, need to print same day), glass, lino, mylar, acetate, even paper (one use only). Because I use metal I am more familiar with prepping it before printing - needs to be sanded (I use a barbeque scrubber)- sand horizontally, vertically and diagonally. This will last for a long time before you have to do it again.

Before I paint on the plate I apply a mixture of glycerin and gum arabic (approx. 4oz gum arabic to 26 drops of glycerine). The gum arabic increases the viscosity of the pigment and helps release the image from the plate, retains the integrity of your marks and prevents bleeding. The glycerine slows down the drying time of the paint. This mixture has to be dry before you can start painting.

*It is important to sand and apply the glycerin/gum mixture to the plate - if you don't will end up with imagery that bleeds.

So, now you are ready to print...Soaking the paper is the most important aspect of printing. This has to be right. Not too wet - not too dry! Do not over-wet your paper as this will cause your pigment to run! You will need to experiment with the soaking time -  I live in a very dry climate so my average time for soaking the paper is 4 and 1/2 minutes. Remove excess water after soaking with a squeegee (on the wrong side of the paper) then placing between 2 sheets of blotting paper and roll with a rolling pin and finally using a clean brush to raise the nape on the right side of the paper before printing. Check for dry spots and the paper should be 'cool' to the touch.

You can print by hand, but I have an etching press that I use -much less labor intensive. My favourite printmaking paper is BFK Rives. I have tried other printmaking papers but for me the BFK works like a charm every time!

This is really just a barebones description of how I like to make a mono print. I would encourage you to check for workshops where you live, on-line videos, books, etc. There are lots of different techniques and thoughts on mono printing. I make detailed notes on all my monoprints - sketches, pigments used,  what did and didn't work, colour swatches, how long the paper was soaked, etc - this is invaluable info to have. Most of all enjoy trying something new and the adventure of experimenting!

Below are some of the mono prints I have enjoyed creating. Have a wonderful day

Monoprint journal entry

'Bye the Sea'
Monoprint on BFK Rives

'The Philosopher'
22"X30"
Monoprint on
BFK Rives

11"X14"
Monoprint on BFK Rives