monotype print

I’m excited to offer the 100 print project gelatin printing class for only $75 for this month of February. That is a $50 savings on a wonderful comprehensive gelatin print making class.

I am looking forward to making 100 prints on my own as well. It has been a while since I have pulled out the gelatin plate and played with my stencils and mark making tools.

This class is great for beginners and for experienced printmakers as well. One of the goals is to learn how to get the most from your marks and tools. We will layer images, make stencils, and find tools.

In this class, we work in one size so that the layering is somewhat predictable. Gelatin printmaking by its nature, is experimental and unpredictable. But the more marks you make, more prints you pull, the more predictable your outcomes may be.

We will learn how to retrieve prints that I’ve gone to far in are in the yucky pile. You will learn when to stop and when to keep going. So check out the details on the workshop page and, consider joining the 100 print project.

The sale class this month is Draw into Print. In this class, we explore several ways to create trace monotype prints. Read the details on the workshop page.

I have been exploring an even simpler way to incorporate trace monotype prints into my sketchbook.

Sometimes I don’t want to get out a lot of tools and would like a quick little way of making a print.

For this simple process, you just need some water soluble oil pastels, wax paper, masking tape and simple line drawings.

The first step is to make some simple drawings on small sheets of paper that you would like to make duplicates of.  Do keep the lines, simple, and clear.  This process would be more difficult with a very detailed drawing.

To create the transfer paper, we are going to heavily coat the wax paper with a layer of water soluble oil pastel. You could use any color that you like, but to get the traditional, fuzzy line, mark like a trace monotype print, I use black.  This trace paper can be used over and over again. You will just need to re-coat it with the water soluble oil pastel every so often.

To make the trace monotype print lightly tape the trace paper onto your sketchbook. “Ink/pastel” side facing down.  Then tape your sketch on top of the trace paper and firmly trace over your line drawing. It works like carbon paper of the olden days. 🙂

Be careful to keep the papers in place so that your lines will match up. You may have to experiment with the amount of pressure needed to transfer the line. But I think you’ll be pleasantly pleased with your results.

One benefit of using the water soluble oil pastels is that they are somewhat resistant to watercolor. And I love to accent the drawings with a bit of loose watercolor to complete the image. Hope you enjoy this technique.

If you want to explore trace monotype printing in depth, check out the details of the online class Draw into Print, the sale class for this month.

How do you build confidence in your mark making skills?

I think keeping the skill building fun and the learning fast helps. That is one reason I like gelatin printmaking. I can lay down ink and stencils rather quickly and lots of prints quite fast.

Add some awareness and learning and skill building happens.

Gelatin plate monotype printing is often spontaneous, intuitive and feedback can be immediate. Other forms of printmaking can require more planning and preparation.

Pull a pile of Mountain scape prints, with the tips and instructions in the online course, Monochromatic Mountains. It is on sale for the month of April, save $25, now only $50 USD. Get all the details on the workshop page.

 

Trees are one of my go to subjects. They are easy to abstract and fun to create.

I get my inspiration from my walks in the woods, but I also see amazing old trees every where.

I can be fun to try to capture the likeness of that favorite tree.

Sometimes I get close and notice the texture of the bark and things growing there, moss, ivy, bittersweet, and the like.

The look and feel of the tree changes with the seasons. Winter offers bare branches and monochromatic color. In the spring I notice fresh green and red buds fill the branches. Summer is a lush canopy of greens. And the Fall can be a riot of brilliant colors.

I have wanted to capture “that” tree in all of its seasons, but just have not done it yet.

This admiration of trees lead me to create the Torn Tree Workshop. It is about making abstract forests with simple printmaking and drawing techniques. This month of March I am offering this 12 lesson class for only $50. USD. Check out the details.

I like to combine my woods walks and my art inspiration.