How to Print a Monotype without a Press Monotype printmaking is the “painterly print” option. This printmaking process is accessible to everyone, and it doesn’t require sharp tools, carving lines into hard material, or using a printing press. At its most basic, monotype prints are made by manipulating pigment into shapes on a smooth, flat …
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Monotype Print Still Life – adding Colored Pencil to your Art I spent a foggy afternoon transferring printmaking inks from leaky containers to new ones, sent gratis by the manufacturer. Good customer service! While pouring and scraping ink into shiny new containers, I rolled out a bit of leftover ink on a sheet of plexiglass …
Monotype Print Still Life Art – adding Colored Pencil to your Print Read More »
Make a Monotype from Things Around the House This was a quick experiment to see if I could pull a monotype print – without a press – from tube watercolor applied to a tin-foil-wrapped sheet of scrap cardboard. Making fun stuff from what you have around the house was the goal, and it worked, so …
Make a Watercolor Monotype from Cardboard, Cotton Swabs and Aluminum Foil Read More »
Spontaneous Monotype Still Life Print I’m in the midst of filming, editing, and narrating a video class on monotype printmaking. It’s complex work, and not in my creative wheelhouse. One of the best ways to shake off the monitor and keyboard is a spontaneous monotype. That’s how this one arrived. Fixing a Monotype Print – …
Preserve the Sizing in Fine Art Paper Have you ever soaked printmaking paper and discovered that the sizing in the paper flew the coop? Absent or deteriorated sizing in printmaking paper can result in failed prints. In this post, we’ll talk about preserving the sizing in fine art paper. The monotype in this post went …
Preserve the Sizing in Fine Art Paper, and Repair Monotype Prints with Colored Pencils Read More »
Colored Pencils Enhance Monotype Prints Have you ever added colored pencils to refine parts of your monotype prints? (If you’ve never made a monotype, here is an introduction to dark field monotype prints without a press.) Whether your subject is portraits, abstract, still life, or landscape, adding colored pencil will transform a mediocre print into …
Refining Details on Monotype Prints with Colored Pencils Read More »
Repurpose Plastic Food Containers into Printmaking Plates Your enthusiasm for this post about converting a plastic cookie container into a drypoint engraving inspired another monotype printmaking experiment. I started clipping plastic from all the food and produce containers we brought home from the grocers to experiment with monotype, drypoint and collagraph prints. This post is …
How to Make Monotype Prints from a Plastic Blueberry Container Read More »
Make a Monotype Print with Water Soluble Crayons from a Sheet of Drafting Film You can use water soluble crayons and watercolors on a sheet of acrylic plexiglass to make a monotype (like this figurative monotype print). You can also use a sheet of Mylar drafting film as your monotype printmaking plate! Drafting Film Sheets …
Monotype Print from Drafting Film with Water Soluble Crayons and Watercolors Read More »
Colored Pencils to the Rescue Have you ever added colored pencil to your monotype prints? (If you’ve never made a monotype, read on…) Whether your subject is portraits, abstract, still life or landscape, adding colored pencil will transform a mediocre print into a monotype jubilee. I’m not kidding. If you have a stash of old …
Adding Colored Pencil to Monotype Print Portraits Read More »
Monotype Ghost Print Transformation Let’s add colored pencil to a monotype ghost print. If you’re not familiar with monotypes, visit this information page about monotype printmaking. If you like watching demonstrations, here is a monotype tutorial playlist on youtube. Each tutorial video on my channel has a list of associated supplies in the Show More …
Painterly Monotype Portraits with Colored Pencil Painterly printmaking with monotype is a very accessible art project. You don’t need a press, or sharp tools, as there is no carving involved. Monotypes are simply pigments on a smooth plate, manipulated with tools into an image that is transferred to paper while the ink is still wet. …
Monotype Printmaking Experiments Every printmaking adventure has some element of surprise. Add a drop of modifier to the ink, or swap a tried and true paper for a different brand – and you might pull a masterpiece, or a dud. Monotype printmaking experiments will inform and improve all the prints you make afterwards. Reserve a …
Monotype Printmaking Experiments – Repairs & Fixes Read More »
We are sheltering in Place with Art Alone-Together Amidst the steady stream of sad news over the Covid 19 pandemic, there are creative, generous, kind people – broadcasting good things to all of us. Here are some wonderful examples of the best parts of humanity. Resources Online to Feel More Connected The always amazing Gretchen …
Sheltering in Place with Art Alone-Together, and Printing a Monotype without a Press Read More »
Petite Monotype Transfer Drawings While making a video course, new artwork is created to demonstrate the process so you can see all the steps. This monotype transfer drawing portrait of a sleeping child was a test print for a course on Monotype Printmaking I’m filming and editing in my studio this spring. (If you’re interested …
Monotype Transfer Drawing Painted with Watercolor – Pendulum Dream Read More »
Adding Watercolor to Monotype Ghost Prints In this monotype group on facebook, there was discussion about what to do with very faint monotype ghost prints. Many folks new to printmaking aren’t aware that adding watercolor or colored pencil to monotype ghost prints is an option. The only caveat is noting the paper you’ve printed your …
Gelli Plate Print Abstracts Gelli Plate Prints and Monotype prints are some of the most accessible types of printmaking to try if you’re curious about making prints at home. You don’t need a printing press, or sharp carving tools, or even printmaking ink. The popularity of gelli plates, and all of their instructional videos have …
Gelli Plate Print Backgrounds for Trace Monotypes Read More »
Making Pet Portraits with Monotype Prints Dark Field Monotypes (and monoprints) work very well as a media for pet portraits. These painterly prints in their monochromatic layout act as a perfect underpainting for experiments with other media, both wet (watercolor) and dry (colored pencil or pastel, etc.) If you’d like to watch demonstrations of the …
Dark Field Monotype Pet Portraits – and a video tutorial Read More »
Monotype Video Course I’ve been listening to podcast interviews with other artists while filming a dark field monotype course. Hearing other artists discuss their journey reminds me about what I didn’t know when I first started printmaking. It’s important to roll time back, and recall the minutiae of our own beginnings with any art process, …
Inspiration from Other Artists Thank goodness monotype artists share their work online, or we wouldn’t have any painterly printmaking to look at from the comfort of our coziest researching-the-internet chairs. Every artist who ever clicked the publish button on a blog post or social media to share images of their work gets a grateful hat-tip …
Monotype Ghost Print of a Cat – and links to Monotype Artists Read More »
What is a Light Field Monotype? Monotypes are a hybrid between painting and printmaking. The name monotype has the root “mono” meaning one. Monotype printmaking results in a single image. These beautiful prints cannot be printed in quantity or an edition, like other, repeatable printmaking methods (woodcuts, etchings, etc.). Light Field Monotypes are painted or …
What’s the Difference Between Dark and Light Field Monotype Prints? Read More »
Using Other Media on Your Monotypes This monotype ghost print looked a little dubious all by itself (see below), but it had potential. The mark-making still visible in the thin veil of ink was interesting, but the tonal variations were too close together, and it needed more contrast to read as two embracing figures. Other …
5 Printmakers to follow on Instagram, Vol. 2, and a Monotype Read More »
Color Landscape Monotype Printmaking Tips Here is a printmaking exercise for you. Make quick, small landscape color monotype prints from a page of Thumbnail Photos to Loosen Up. Print two sheets of thumbnails from paintable images snapped on your phone. Let’s make some light field color monotypes, but loose and fluid… no fussing allowed. If …
Printmaking Tip – Landscape Color Monotype Prints Read More »
Inspiring Art Links for You Marc Taro Holmes is embarking on a 30×30 challenge that’s a variation on the usual month-long painting commitment. He’s made 30 small monochrome studies using digital software (see them here) and he’s going to paint one per day for 3o days in the studio with no reference photos or live …
Monotype Ghost Print – Italian Vacation and Art Links for You Read More »
Getting Ready to Make a Monotype This (below) is a 4 x 6 zinc plate, with beveled edges – since I’ll be printing this on a press. After rolling a smooth, thin layer of black printmaking ink on the plate, I’ll use cotton swabs, rolled paper towel pointers, blending stomps and a rubber gloved fingertip …
Adding Watercolor and Colored Pencil to a Dark Field Monotype – San Juan Capistrano Bell Read More »
Monotype Ghost Prints If you’re new here, and unfamiliar with monotypes as a printmaking method, take a look at this post to see process shots. Monotypes are very painterly prints, made with pigment alone (no incised lines on the plate) and they can be made in a huge variety of ways, with no press, and …
The Beauty of Monotype Ghost Prints Monotypes are painterly, singular prints made with a smooth plate and pigment. There is no carving, no incised lines, no adhered ephemera to leave a repeatable mark on printmaking paper. And you don’t need a press to transfer the print. Monotypes are made by manipulating printmaking ink or pigments …
Monotype Ghost Prints: Adding Watercolor to Your Monotypes Read More »
What’s a Monotype? A few posts back – the one about printmaking ink I accidentally left on a monotype plate for several weeks – I got a flurry of questions about monotypes. So let’s review, shall we? Monotypes are a printmaking method that doesn’t require carving, engraving, acid or solvents. And depending on your approach and …
Light Field Color Monotype Print – Monterey Retreat Read More »
What Happens When You Leave Akua Printmaking Inks on the Plate too long? Have you ever rolled Akua printmaking ink out on a plate and then got sidetracked? Yeah, me too. See below for the story of what happened after I left Akua inks on a plexiglass plate for (gulp) weeks. We were approaching Christmas. …
What Happens When You Leave Printmaking Inks on the Plate too long? Read More »
A Gifted Natural – or a Determined Student I attended a piano recital my grandkids played in last night. The performers ranged in age from about 5 to 14. The performers’ skills demonstrated everything from super beginner, first recital, barely able to reach the pedals and eek out Jingle Bells, all the way up to …
Figurative Monotype – and Being a Gifted Natural vs a Determined Student Read More »
Making a Painterly Monotype Here are some process photos for making a painterly monotype with non-toxic inks from a sheet of acrylic or plexiglass. If you’re interested in diving a little deeper into printmaking and monotypes, I’ve got a series of monotype tutorial demos for you on my youtube channel here. Grab a beverage and …
26 Painters to Follow, and Printing a Monotype of a Cat Read More »