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

Monoprint Collage Workshop

I have just finished taking another online workshop with the great Jane Davies. The workshop was Jane's Monoprint Collage.  We used the GelliArts gel plate (8X10") with acrylic paint (heavy body and fluid), stencils, mark making tools and lots of paper!! The first 2 lessons had us making collage papers using a variety of techniques - masking , stencilling, layering colours - lots and lots of different techniques....you were only limited by your imagination!  I used a variety of paper weights; 20lb up to 80lb.  I wanted to see what paper worked the best for printing and collaging with later. I made over a 100 collage papers and there were times that I wished I had more!  I have shown a few examples of the papers made below.

As we progressed through the workshop we worked with collaging, printing and adding paint to our images.  (A progression of lessons that built on one another.)

These are the open grids created with collage and printing with the gelli plate - with some cleanup using white paint. (Middle image is 10"X10" and the left and right images are 8"X10")

These are images that used main shapes created with stencils and printing.  Once printed we worked on the ground and could add more shapes if we wanted using more print and collage and line as well. This is an example of the start and the 'finished' image of one.  Image is 8"X10"

For this lesson we could start with printed images or collage and then print over the collage.  The image below shows the collage start and then the finished image that was printed, painted and had some line work added. Image size is 8"X10"

And finally the last lesson....using print starts and then cleaning up edges, enhancing or changing colours and adding collage and line if wanted. The images below show the start on the left and the 'finished' image on the right.  

I have only shown a small sampling of images created in the workshop, but I think it will give you some idea of the work involved and how the lessons built on one another.  When I started the workshop I told myself I was going to step outside my box and go with the 'flow'. Hmmm... I think I need to work on this a lot more! I am really looking forward to experimenting more with these techniques and adding them to my art practice. Jane's online workshops are so well done.  Each lesson has a 'written' lesson and a video demo.  A blog is set up (that can only be accessed by class participants) where you post your work and comments regarding your images for the particular lesson.  You can see other participants work and comment if you like.  The real bonus is Jane looks at all the work that is posted and provides individual comments to each artist about their work. I really do encourage you to check out Jane's website, sign up for her blog and check out her UTube videos. You won't be disappointed!