Monday, February 3, 2014

MONO PRINTING MADNESS!



Beginnings

This is the beginning of my next painting.  This is a YUPO surface with acrylic brayered on and then stamped into.  My idea is to add collage and then a drawing or painting on top of that.  I have been having waaaaaay too much fun making mono prints with my new extra large Gelli plate.  I never took a class in printing techniques, except for serigraph (think silk screen printing) which I was terrible at.  I can't get things to register.  The other problem is starting with the finished product in your head and then reverse engineering to have the right steps to get the desired results.  My brain isn't wired that way.  I came across a fabulous artist, Anne Moore, who does these stunning mono prints.  I studied them very carefully to try to determine her sequencing.  I am starting to understand what happens with subsequent layering using masks, stencils, stamps and glaze colors, opaque colors, going from light to dark, dark to light, etc.  I think you just have to do it a lot to understand it.  In the meantime, it is exciting to see what you think you are going to get and what actually shows up!  I did some printing on Tyvek, some on 90lb watercolor paper, but mostly on white tissue paper and deli paper.  The other fascinating thing I was playing with is color and what happens when you layer odd combinations over each other.   Some of the mono prints are just one pull and I decided to leave them that way because I thought it was interesting collage paper.  Some of the papers look like finished abstract paintings to me.  I may stick them down to a sturdy substraight and leave them, or I may tear them up and use sections of them at a time, or use them whole in a painting.  Working this way creates lots of difficult decisions, but sometimes results in very unusual paintings that would NEVER HAVE COME ABOUT if I worked in a predictable, safe and traditional way.  The piece above seems very busy to add collage and then a drawing but most of it will probably be obscured by the time I am done.  One of the things I loved about Anne Moore's paintings is the under layers barely showing through, creating a mystery and history at the same time.  That is what I am attempting to do.  If things don't work out, well, it is only a piece of paper and a little bit of paint. 

Delli paper used to clean brayer

first printing white tissue 




Some overprinting on tissue, for collage
Over printing with stamp, for collage
Three layers,  on tissue paper
Four layers on tissue paper

15 comments:

Autumn Leaves said...

Can't wait to see how you use these prints, Myrna. I know it will be awesome though.

juliefordoliver.blogspot.com said...

Hi Myrna - thanks for showing the steps. I understand only too well about wrapping your mind around the reverse engineering - not easy for me too. Love the results.

Meera Rao said...

Oh, I love the madness:) terrific textures !

Kim Minichiello said...

Hi Myrna, Beginnings seems like it could be a finished piece! Wonderful movement, texture, muted palette!

Liz Hill, irreverent Art said...

Really interesting effects, where do you find the time for all of this? You are an art machine!

Sue J said...

Gelli printing is a bit addictive! I like the results you've achieved :)

RH Carpenter said...

I really don't think I'd add a thing to the top one or the first red one - they both look like beautiful abstracted paintings to me and are complete as they are :) Makes me want to get my gelli plates out again!

Lynnda Tenpenny said...

THanks for posting these and for your comments about the process. Please continue the discussion if you find tips to help with that "reverse" thinking necessary to the monoprint process. I saw your work and a demo at Kanuaga a few years ago. My thoughts are that there's nothing you couldn't figure out! I love Anne Moore's work and also Linda Germain.

marsha said...

I love "Beginnings" just the way it is! Fabulous!
But I also can't wait to see where it takes you.....

Win Dinn, Artist said...

Wonderful post, and I'm in total agreement with the reverse engineering difficulty!

Unknown said...

Wow :)

MB Shaw said...

Great Blog Post. I love hearing about your process.

Unknown said...

Myrna, thankyou for explaining your experimentation steps. It reassures me that my tentative attempts are much like others' efforts! Yes,I agree, you have to do lots to get the hang of what you can achieve! I've seen demos on Yupo paper,love it,will try some time, your efforts are truly inspiring!And the ones on tissue paper.I like that ethereal look.

Myrna Wacknov said...

HI Ellen, Glad to be of help. Every effort will find a place in your art even if it is not what you had hoped for! Keep it going!!

Neptune's Daughter said...

Reverse engineering sucks for me too - I am just not wired that way... even when lino printing I had to stick a mantra infront of me on my studio wall when working on the block - "THE BITS YOU CUT OUT WILL NOT PRINT".
Phew.
Sorta worked, then like you I discovered Ann Moore and the gelliplate - freedom!
And my new mantra became - hey, it's only paper, right? Powr to your elbow!
And thanks for sharing your thoughts and results.
Jac
www.jac-howard.co.uk

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