Trace Monotype: Balladeer (& museum-goers are asked what they see in art)

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My grandparents met in a Connecticut textile mill as teenagers. They were not yet 20 when they married. He was from Canada and spoke only French, and she was from England, so communication was challenging in their early years. Right up to the end of their lives, they held hands, patted the empty seat next to them beckoning the other to come sit close, and they made each other laugh, especially while reminiscing. I loved visiting them, typing frantically on my lap top, to harvest everything they giggled when I asked “Where were you when you first kissed?” (In the back of a horse-drawn sleigh on a snowy Thanksgiving night in 1934) and “What was your first date like?” (Shared crackers and pickles during a lunch break on the loading dock of the mill) and “Tell me about the first home you shared as newlyweds?” (A single room jutting from the roof of a building at the train tracks, referred to as Our Little Penthouse).

This little monotype was inspired by a photo of my grandfather on my grandmother’s aunt’s porch (she lived with relatives after being orphaned) when they were courting.  He and his brother played in a band on the weekends, so he stopped by to woo his crush on the way to a gig. My grandmother said he played so well, and sang so sweetly (in French) that her Aunt would come to the door over and over again to peer at them on the porch, making sure there was no romantic swooning or touching going on. 🙂 They were married for 74 years. Music can be a potent marinade for love. ????

Here’s a little timelapse video (2 minutes) of watercolor on trace monotype fun. If you don’t see the video window above, you can watch it here.  If you’re not familiar with trace monotype, you can watch a video tutorial here. No press required. 🙂

Check the links below for a few of the art supplies I use when working in monotype, or adding watercolor to prints:

rubber gloves http://amzn.to/1bNmWvu

apron http://amzn.to/1fWXkIh

Plexiglass for your table top http://amzn.to/1R7gI7z -or- 12×12 acetate sheets to tape down & roll ink out on http://amzn.to/1UfjNru

akua ink http://amzn.to/1M711w4

4 inch soft rubber brayer http://amzn.to/1vOHPzY

rubber tipped wipe-out tools http://amzn.to/1P08UTR

newsprint for test prints http://amzn.to/1pgAgRb

Arches cover paper (textured surface, great for both dry & wet media on top of monotype prints) http://www.dickblick.com/items/10417-…

Arches 88 paper (very smooth surface – not recommended for wet media, but great for colored pencil or pastel on top of monotype prints) http://amzn.to/1ogZAVT

blending stomps http://amzn.to/1UT3x07

Prismacolor Colored Pencils http://amzn.to/1ogWqS1

Prismacolor blending pencil & sharpener http://amzn.to/1ogWC3L

Watercolor set http://amzn.to/1UXp1c3

Art Eraser http://amzn.to/1UqauH0

Art Masking Tape http://amzn.to/1Sh9jnl

Drawing Bridge http://amzn.to/1pUUvnP

Drawing Board http://amzn.to/1ShiiVx

*Reference Books*

The Painterly Print http://amzn.to/1Ld9aUU

Monotype: Mediums and Methods http://amzn.to/1P0aghm

Printmaking Bible http://amzn.to/1Ld9gvQ

Print Workshop http://amzn.to/1QMmFYl

Monoprinting: Printmaking Handbooks http://amzn.to/2bQ8Spo

If you have any questions about the process, please leave them in the comment section, and I’ll do my best to answer them quickly! Happy art-making!

You can find me here:

https://www.belindadelpesco.com

http://www.patreon.com/bdelpesco

http://www.etsy.com/shop/bdelpesco

http://www.facebook.com/belinda.delpe…

http://instagram.com/bdelpesco

https://twitter.com/bdelpesco

http://www.pinterest.com/bdelpesco/

And then, here’s a fun article from the New York Times featuring museum-goers comments on artwork exhibited in a show titled Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible at the Met Breuer Museum. When you see work you’ve admired and loved in a museum – especially something you’ve never seen in person before – what goes through your head? What does the art make you feel? Is your reaction ignited exclusively by the success of the process the artist deployed, or the emotive and narrative elements of the image itself?

Thanks ♥ for stopping by,

Belinda

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Art Quote

A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art. Emotion is the starting point; the beginning and the end. Craftsmanship and technique are in the middle.

~Paul Cezanne

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