Monotype: Waiting for Rain – how to make a monotype

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Waiting for Rain 8.5×7.5 monotype (Available in my Etsy Shop)

A New Monotype Tutorial

I’ve posted another monotype tutorial video on my youtube channel. This one is perfect if you don’t have a press, or a whole day to play with ink; a single color is rolled out directly on a table covered with a large sheet of plexiglass. If you don’t have plexiglass, you can roll your ink out on a glass shelf or a piece of glass from a photo frame, taped down to a table. The back of a paint brush handle is used to sketch shapes into the wet ink, and the art-making process is off and running from there. The reference photo I used for this demo was snapped by my father-in-law in the 1950’s in Scottsdale, Arizona, where it almost never rains. Especially of you just arrived there from upstate New York. 🙂

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Gathering gloves & an apron, scraping tools & ink, and paper to make a monotype

You can watch the video below, or click here to watch it directly on my channel. There are three other monotype tutorials posted over there, so have a look if you think you’d like to experiment with this painterly form of printmaking.

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Rolling ink out on a plexiglass sheet

 
Drawing Supplies
 

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Sketching into wet ink, and ‘carving light’ with a cotton swab

 

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Pulling the monotype after hand-rubbing kozo paper into the wet ink

 

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Leaving the monotype in the studio to dry overnight before enhancing values with colored pencil

What is so Important About Practice in Art?

Here is a series of very inspirational video clips with master violinist Itzhak Perlman giving advice on the art of practice. He is, of course, speaking to musicianship, but his sage wisdom, delivered in his beautiful basso voice, applies perfectly to art-making as well. Brew a cup of tea and have a listen.

 

Thanks for stopping by today, and I’ll see you in the next post!

Happy Making,

Belinda

P.S. You can sign up here to subscribe and get each new post via email as soon as it’s published.

Art Quote

When you practice, it has to be slow. You cannot practice impatiently. You know, putting in the time to practice is not enough. I would rather practice with your head for two hours than somebody else just mindlessly for eight, because that doesn’t work.  If you want to practice really correctly, number one; SLOWLY. And number two, have an agenda. Why do you want to practice? Make sure you practice in small sections. You want to make sure you don’t repeat anything without actually hearing what you’re doing, because when you repeat certain things; for example, lets say you practice something with the bow… you keep repeating it and then you’re slightly out of tune, so then you are actually practicing how to play out of tune. That’s why you have to listen really carefully to what you’re doing.

~Itzhak Perlman

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Some folks on my channel have asked how to control volume. Be sure you’re making adjustments to *both* your computer volume, and the video volume. Hover your cursor near the bottom of the video screen to reveal the volume controls. 🙂

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11 thoughts on “Monotype: Waiting for Rain – how to make a monotype”

  1. Excellent tutorial, I’ve never wanted to try this technique, but after seeing your
    example, I may try.

    1. Hi Carole – It really is a very painterly printmaking method, and there isn’t a lot to it in the way of tools and supplies. I hope you give it a whirl. Maybe an art-date with a friend so you can do it together? Happy printmaking!

  2. Again, a great tutorial! Just the right blend of instruction and inspiration. Especially enjoyed Itzhak Perlman’s advice to practice slowly and in small, concentrated chunks of time.

    1. Hi Louise, I loved Perlman’s advise too. And his voice. He seems like a natural teacher, and his approach to mastery applies to anything we’re trying to get better at. Thanks for the feedback, and happy making!

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