Monoprint on canvas and muslin using textile paint
approximately 11 x 13 inches
In my recent profile of artists Jette Clover she shared with us that she does a daily practice by making a small collage each morning. I like the idea of that but I have at this time not made that commitment. I have however found a way to "practice" and explore that I want to pursue and that is through making small monoprints. My intention is not to do them daily but I have discovered that when I work at this scale with this technique that making "just one" is not possible. It is sort of like eating only one of those famous potato chips.
What you are seeing in the first image is actually two pieces of fabric, one canvas and one muslin that have been laid side by side, photographed and photoshoped quickly to appear to be one composition. The idea is that these are primarily studies which could be taken forward into small finished works or kept as they are and studied for inspiration.
In this first piece the textile paint was smeared onto an acrylic plate and pressed onto the canvas. There was still paint on the plate so I made a print onto muslin. I love the ghostly appearance of each side and actually printers call these second prints from a single plate - "ghost prints". It is easy to see that they are similiar but there are wonderful gradations in each that are different enough to keep things interesting.
I plan to try this again so here are the things I will immediately be thinking about.
- Begin with using only Black then introduce other values or other colors
- Make many prints and ghost prints on same type of substrate
- Try a variety of substrates including paper
- Print one image directly on top of first print but perhaps turned 90 degrees or upside down
- Print many images on larger pieces of fabric
- Print two different prints on the same substrate
- Experiment with different brands of textile paints and acrylic paint or thickened dye
This list gives you the idea.
Monoprint on Canvas - Two French Curves
approximately 8 x 8 inches
Monoprint on Canvas - Two French Curves detail
In this print you can see that indeed I did do some of the procedures I listed. I printed the initial surface with red textile paint twice. I then used an acrylic french curve painted with textile paint and printed it onto the canvas. Finally I "framed" it with small black lines printed from the edge of my acrylic plate.
Monoprint on canvas using textile paint
approximately 8 x 4 inches
This small print is also made using canvas and textile paint. The paint dries quickly so that you can add additional layers in one session. Here the black and orange appears to be a landscape
and the white layer gives depth and movement to the composition. I still have not decided how much "hand" is too much hand for my tastes. It is very different from dye for sure.
One of the things I really like about these small pieces on the computer is that you can "see" them at any size you imagine. To me the first piece can be seen as 18 x 24 or larger etc.
When you prepare to work with this process I suggest you cut many pieces of the materials you want to print on and have them ready to go. Lay out one color or a few colors and begin. You might find yourself with a nice stack of prints at the end of your exploration and ideas for a larger work or ideas for another session of small prints or both.
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