Tutor Feedback: Assignment 1

 Below is the feedback from my tutor about Assignment 1. I was really pleased with how quickly Michelle responded to my assignment as this enables me to move forward to the next stage with the benefit knowing the areas which I need to work on. 

Overall I'm happy because the feedback is generally positive. I have put my responses to my tutors questions and suggestions in italics and a different colour for clarity:

Formative feedback

Student name Aylish Giamei Student number 516054
Course/Unit Printmaking1 Assignment number Assignment 1
Type of tutorial Written

Overall Comments

You have sent well organised and clearly labelled prints making your thinking and work easy to follow and understand, thank you.
You have produced a very good body of monoprinting work for the tasks in assignment 1.You have very good control of your media particularly as monoprinting readily lends itself to over inked slabs of runny marks. Your work displays care, planning and diligence. Your purchase of a block press looks really exciting I’ve never seen one like that, it looks very ingenious, and I can see why you are so excited! You have undertaken additional workshops and are clearly excited to learn to print.
You have clearly taken your time in the development of your work, patience with printmaking pays off. You have a number of prints that demonstrate your potential as a very good inventive printmaker. 

Very happy with this feedback - this will help my confidence as I move forward.

Assignment 1 Assessment potential 

You may want to get credit for your hard work and achievements with the OCA by formally submitting your work for assessment at the end of the module. More and more people are taking the idea of lifelong learning seriously by submitting their work for assessment but it is entirely up to you. We are just as keen to support you whether you study for pleasure or to gain qualifications. Please consider whether you want to put your work forward for assessment and let me know your decision when you submit Assignment 2. I can then give you feedback on how well your work meets the assessment requirements.

I do intend to put my work forward for formal assessment - I am on the Drawing pathway working towards a BA degree

Feedback on assignment 

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity 

TASK 1 your early figurative experiments 

You have a very good body of early monoprints. You have explored multiple methods of mark making resulting in expressive and experimental early monoprinting. I was interested to see you have access to a press, you have done well to control the quantity of ink. At this stage of developing work it may be worth considering the use of different scale and reflecting on how this can impact on your weight of line and mark. Some of these marks especially your paintly method looks like they could lead to much larger prints A2 or even A1
Yes I would like to try working on a larger scale - I will certainly explore this possibility in part 5 when I need to produce hybrid prints. 


.You have done incredibly well as these are your first prints, I was astonished to read in your blog you had not printed before.
Quality of ink and paper does have an impact on the print but your handling of this is good. It is a difficult balance between using ink too thick and thin - it just takes practice. 
There is so much to learn as there are so many variables which have an effect on the final outcome - this was certainly a challenging part 1 and a very steep learning curve - but I am really enjoying the process. There is plenty more scope for experimentation here.

TASK 2 Positive /negative masked prints

The masked monoprints you have selected are well composed and technically well inked .You have used the human figure as subject matter which has resulted in technically able and well controlled prints. You have used a variety of papers so far –you may wish to do a bit of research on the impact of paper on print quality. Fabriano have just brought out a budget paper that is very good quality called Unica.
http://rkburt.com/products/new-and-featured-2016/
I will order some to try out. I already have samples of several other papers but was not keen to use them on part one because they are expensive and I was just starting out. I have been 'learning to walk' on cheaper papers generally apart from the one small sample pack of Japanese papers that I bought.

TASK 3 

Your storks have worked well, they are composed well and are placed with consideration within the paper. I am interested to know why you selected them to make a print? 
This was a bit of a random choice of subject. I was supposed to be doing a drypoint course that day called "beautiful birds in drypoint' so I had sources to images of birds for inspiration. Unfortunately the course was cancelled owing to tutor illness so I pressed on with the masked monoprints. Out of the birds I had images of, the heron seemed to be the most appropriate one because it had such elegant lines in its silhouette. 



. Many artists use animals as a visual vehicle to talk about wider themes- I would expand your research here and look at how contemporary artists appropriate animals to represent ideas beyond an illustrative image, I attach a few examples.
I would recommend working from life as much as possible to inform your prints, drawings can be manipulated and re worked in your sketchbook by using tracing paper or even photocopiers if you have access to one to enlarge and re compose images with.
http://www.jackieberridge.co.uk/drawing.htm
http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/articles/where-wild-things-are
https://www.seditionart.com/tracey_emin/this_is_my_favourite_little_bird
http://flavorwire.com/168724/taxidermy-art
https://www.henry-moore.org/whats-on/2016/10/15/henry-moore-sheep
http://www.jamesfisher.eu

Thank you - this is certainly something I would like to follow up. I spend most of my working life in close contact with animals. I would very much like to incorporate animal into my work but have struggled to understand how to do this without producing twee illustrative pet portraits - This has stimulated me to do some research about animals in our visual culture. 

 Your backdrawn prints display excellent technical control and some skilled line qualities. But I think the subject matter is a little dull for you.
You are absolutely right - this was a last minute panic and a random choice of subject from what was in the immediate vicinity. 

I found your texture prints especially interesting. This work is demonstrating how much you have progressed. These are exciting and technically skilled monoprints.You have clearly learnt a great deal and engaged with what the process has offered you.
The texture section was my absolute favourite part. I have to credit Mick Welbourn from Leeds Print Workshop for opening my eyes on this part of the course. This was very much process driven - there were no pre-conceived ideas at the start of the working day. The prints evolved from responding to what was going on in one layer when overprinting the next layer. I found this exploratory process liberating and it produced some of my best prints. 

 TASK 4 Four contrasting monoprints

These prints demonstrate how much you have learnt from these assignments demonstrating good handling of monoprint techniques. You have very good use of composition, line, colour and experimental approach evident in this tasks. These really are contrasting prints with figurative and abstract prints submitted. 
The 2 prints I find the most exciting are the abstract line based prints. These remind me of Brice Marsden’s work http://www.matthewmarks.com/new-york/artists/brice-marden/
I’m interested in your paper choice, it has a shiny surface, and did the ink take a long time to dry? Is developing an interest in abstraction something you wish to pursue?
These two prints are my absolute favourites from the ones I have produced so far. I am not sure in which direction to go at this stage. I am attracted to abstract works and certainly enjoyed the process of creating these - but I am also interested in figuration. 

The paper is a coated paper used in commercial printing for glossy magazines and the like. The coating on the paper really attracts the ink so it is possible to get a good clear print from a 'ghost' second or third pass through the press. The coating dries the oil based ink very rapidly. It's like magic!

Sketchbooks 

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Demonstration of Creativity 
Your sketchbook is delightful. It’s an extremely imaginative document full of ideas and subject matter to make work from. I like the scale of the book too.
You have competent drawing skills these are evident throughout your observed work that can lead to abstraction and manipulation for Printmaking. Some very good handling of media is evident. It’s easy to see your progress from observed drawing, ideas and then print. You have also included information about underpinning artists here. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this document and I would continue to work in this thorough way. For development I would add further text to your document that can interweave back and forwards to your blog making your intentions explicit.
Thank you - I thought I hadn't really done enough drawing in my sketchbook this time - on the drawing 1 course I filled at least two for each unit. I am thinking of having two sketchbooks for the next parts - one with the development of ideas for the course as well as research and another (likely smaller) just for drawing practice - the two will obviously have a certain amount of overlap. 

Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays Context

You have begun your log in a well organised manner making it easy for the reader to follow. You are diligent in all your research tasks and evidencing who is underpinning your process. You have included images and text.
For development I would recommend writing more around your chosen themes, OCA call this personal voice. The first thing to reflect upon when choosing subject matter is WHY? Ask yourself what am I making working about and trying to say? How will this be read by a viewer?
Yes - this is certainly an area of weakness in part 1 - I have been overwhelmed by the amount of technical information and skills to take on board. Consequently I didn't expend much energy in consideration and research with regards to subject matter.  This is an area to develop moving forwards.

For improvement reflect upon the artists you are researching and ask yourself how and why their work, methods or thinking influences your own strategies for making.
OK - it will probably pay to be more selective in the artists I choose to talk about to look more in depth at their work and how it might influence me - I have taken a bit of a 'scattergun' approach so far. 

Suggested reading/viewing Context

Have a look at Nicola Hicks work from animals – these may be of interest to you.
 Brice Marden for his line based abstract work.
Sandra Blow’s abstract prints may be of interest to you.
Prunella Clough abstract work may be of interest.

Pointers for the next assignment

• Continue to use your sketchbook as an integral part of your process and add some more depth to your text in this document
• Develop your log as a more critical and reflective document.
• Reflect more fully on the wider context of your work and what you are making work about.
• The next assignment is lino printing, I would refer to the images in the course materials as a guide only and focus on developing your own subject matter. 


Tutor name Michelle Keegan
Date 26/3/17
Next assignment due 30/7/17

This feedback has given me lots of pointers for moving forwards to build on the positive start in part one. I have several artists to look at for inspiration. 

I will be particularly focusing on subject matter and thinking about what I want to say or my reasons for choosing my subject matter - I want to do more research about visual culture and critical theory because I think this will help me in terms of the development of my ideas and placing my own work in context. This will hopefully be of help in terms of making my blog more critical and reflective. 

I will try to weave this academic exploration into my sketchbook with more written notes in an attempt to make my train of thought easier to follow. 

Exhibition: Later Day Saints at WYPW

I recently visited and Exhibition at West Yorkshire Print Workshop by Alan Birch called 'Later day Saints'. Click here to view some of the saints he has created on his own website. 

He was inspired by wood carvings of saints at the Wellcome Collection at the Science Museum in London. 

He has used references from books and religious paintings and sculptures to create a collection of contemporary saints. These saints make reference to modern day objects or activities to which people are devoted or which are worshipped by everyday people. Superstition is still alive and well today and people probably would pray to Saint Lotto if they though this would help them to come into money. 

The artist has created over 90 monoprints from which he selected 52 to become etchings and hand coloured drypoints. 

The overall concept is interesting although I must admit I have seen something similar before in which modern day celebrities such as Simon Cowell became saints in the paintings of a fellow OCA student Adrian Eaton. 

However, the prints themselves didn't really excite me - there were so many of them all of the same size and apparently rapidly executed. They all seemed to merge into one to me - maybe that's partly the point - a comment on the crass mass production of today's society and the fact that we worship false idols sold to us via the mass media. 

Birch has certainly been astute in identifying symbols of modern culture. Many of his saints evoked a wry smile of recognition from me for example Saint Saleus if Primark, Saint Selfie-Stick and Saint Duvet. The one I identified with the most was Saint Remain - the modern day British Saint Sebastian who is pierced by the nationalistic Union Jack arrows of the Brexiteers. Oh dear :-(

Bottle Jack Press

In preparation for the relief printing section of the course I have acquire a 'bottle jack press'. 

I had been looking at resources on the internet for printmaking. I really would love to have a decent sized etching press in my studio at home but the cost of something like that is prohibitive. While I was searching online I came across the design for a relief press which uses a car jack to apply pressure. The design by Charles G. Morgan can be accessed on the website monoprints.com by clicking here

I showed the design to my husband Luigi. To my surprise he was enthusiastic about making one. I think that may have been partly motivated by the suspicion that I might decide to buy a press instead. However he does regularly like to inform me that he is a 'trained technician who doesn't need to read the instructions' (!) He also decided he could improve on the design by making the frame in steel and welding it together. Below are photographs of the work in progress:

And here is the completed press positioned in my studio:

The total cost of the materials to build this came to about £200 - however I suspect it would be even cheaper using the materials from the original design plan - steel is a more expensive material - the springs were a bargain though! Our neighbour gave them to us - they're shock absorber springs - not sure if they are from his old car or his old tractor - they work well to push the platen back up when the pressure is released.

I am feeling very fortunate to have such an indulgent and practically skilled husband - I can't wait to get started on Part 2 of the course to try it out.

Drypoint Workshop at Artison in Masham

I recently attended a one day drypoint workshop taught by Hester Cox at Artison in Masham. Hester was a great teacher - her explanations were clear and in depth and she was patient and encouraging to all of us - most of us were complete beginners with the technique. 

I had chosen to try out drypoint because I enjoy drawing and this technique seems to be a way of incorporating lots of ways of mark making into my work.

Hester provided us with a resource sheet describing the technique and also with lots of reference material - examples of works in drypoint and also drypoint with chine collé were spread around the benches at the side of the room and she also provided links to the websites of numerous artists working in drypoint: 

Of the artists listed, I have selected a few whose work particularly interests me:

Bridget Farmer.

I love the simplicity of Farmer's drypoint prints. The quality of the line is delicious and flowing like that obtained with rapid continuous line drawing. Some of her designs are quite minimal such as her three finches - she has simplified the forms in a very satisfying way - excluding extraneous details. Others such as her coot (which is actually an etching rather than a drypoint) cotton multiple vigorous  lines to suggest the form. Wonderful. 

Lars Nyberg

This artist's use of drypoint is much finer - some of his drawings resemble botanical or scientific drawings. Many of his drypoints feature a single tree or plant surrounded by open and almost featureless space. These make me feel slightly melancholy as they seem to speak of solitude or loneliness. 

Mikael Kihlman

Kihlman uses many different printing modalities in his work including drypoint. His drypoints are very heavily worked which is contrast to the two other artists above. In many of his works the mark making covers almost the whole of the plate - he creates a dark atmosphere in which patches of light stand out dramatically. Reflections of the sky on the surface of puddles against a dark pavement are particularly evocative. The dramatic difference between the work of these three artists shows the versatility of this medium - there is a lot to learn and try here. 

Mary Cassatt
Cassatt was a American Artist who worked in France through most of her adult life and exhibited along with the impressionists. Like the other impressionists, many of her works depict people going about their everyday activities - capturing a moment in time. Her work is special because it mainly depicts women doing everyday things such as caring for children or hanging out the washing: Subjects which would not have been considered suitable for 'high art' before this period. Her drypoints are charming and are a suitable medium for conveying the fleeting nature of the moments she captured with the energy contained in its lines. 

Olivia Lomenech Gill
I have included Gill here because I admire the energy of her linework - particularly in her depiction of animals. I also find her use of Chine collé interesting - she has used pages from books as well as brown paper - this gives me more ideas. 

Catherine McDonald's work has a satisfying velvety inky blackness about it which I really love. Her silhouetted landscapes with telegraph poles have an air of mystery and again isolation about them. 

Hester first gave a us each a small piece of drypoint plastic to experiment on and try to make as many types of mark as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I mainly used the drypoint needle provided but also had a try at using a roulette and a diamond tipped needle which gave texture and a different quality of line - the diamond tipped needle was easier to mark the plate with - especially for curved lines. 

The subject matter for the day was to be birds. I had brought some photographs with me for inspiration. I decided to use a photograph of a juvenile black heron having a 'bad hair day'. I really like this quirky looking character. I had already had a couple of tries at drawing this bird freehand without a resounding success so although it felt a bit like cheating I simply placed the photograph under the clear plastic and drew from the photograph. I spent a lot of time hatching to create the very dark tone of the lower part of his body. I was quite pleased with the marks I had made although I felt overall that the composition was a bit imbalanced with everything in the top part of the paper and very little to balance it lower down. I hadn't quite known what to do with his feet as they were missing from my cropped photograph so I'd just randomly put him in water with ripples around his legs but it hadn't occurred to me to put any semblance of shadows into the water. 

I really should have gone back and worked into the plate to alleviate this but the day was nearly at an end (the hatching had been time consuming - as well as the numerous stops for coffee and cake and a delicious lunch!). I really wanted to try the chine collé using some of the coloured papers that Hester had brought along. Time was running out so my effort at this was somewhat haphazard. I also used too much glue which squished through the tissue and made quite a mess without actually sticking the paper to the print properly. - this is something to try again at a later date. Hester suggested getting some reversible PVA glue - this means you can pre-glue your chine collé and allow it to dry before using it. The glue becomes tacky again on contact with the damp paper and sticks without the gluey mess everywhere!

I thoroughly enjoyed the day and came away with lots of ideas of further things to try such as using DIY tools or even a soldering iron to make marks on the plate as well as dying my own chine collé papers and using reversible PVA. 

Assignment 1: Reflection

Before you send this assignment to your tutor, take a look at the assessment criteria for this course, which will be used to mark your work when you get your work formally assessed.

Review how you think you have done against the criteria and make notes in your learning log. Send these reflections, along with the monoprints you have produced, your sketchbook, supporting studies and your learning log (link to your blog)

Here is a link to the assessment criteria at HE 4 level  on the OCA website

As a complete beginner at printmaking I find it very difficult to assess my performance so as I have no idea of the technical standard required at degree level. I have looked at blogs by my coursemates and compared my own work but this only takes me so far as I do not know how my fellow students fared at assessment. 

Demonstration of Technical and Visual Skills:

Here I fall down mainly on the technical skills aspect of things - I had no experience of printmaking before starting this course so this first section has been a very steep learning curve. I have applied myself and made good progress from a standing start but there is still a lot of progress that needs to be made in handling printing inks, papers and in particular in print registration. Design and composition are also the elements I struggle with the most when trying to produce a finished piece of work - I am much happier just experimenting in a rather random and abstract fashion. Thinking about and planning composition fills me with dread. I would therefore put my first submission at a 'D' : Satisfactory development of visual and technical skills, design and composition. 

Quality of Outcome:

The quality of outcome here is very patchy, largely because of my inexperience with the medium. Again I would score myself a 'D' on this as I have found this section of the course rather difficult: Adequate realisation of ideas and satisfactory presentation of work. 

Demonstration of Creativity: 

I am more comfortable experimenting than I am with applying the results of my experiments to produce finished work. I have plenty of ideas but find it difficult to carry those ideas through into completed work. I have thought about what it is I want to say with my work although my 'personal voice' is not very much in evidence yet in my finished prints. I would score myself as average 'C' Good development of analytical and creative thinking, some independent judgements and some evidence of personal voice. 

Research and Reflection:

Some of my research points go into more depth than others. I have also attended classes and visited galleries for ideas. I have read extensively around the subject from the recommended texts for the course but I have failed to record everything I have read in my log because I got a bit behind with my writing up. I have reflected on each exercise in my learning log and recorded the important learning points and ideas for further development. I would therefore score my performance here again as a 'C' 'good average' 

I think it will become easier for me to assess myself against the criteria once I have received some feedback on my first assignment. There is plenty of room for improvement here.

Assignment 1: Selection of prints

Task 1 (Project 1)

• Two early experimental prints

• A printed study from life

• Two later experiments

I had already stuck quite a few of these in my sketchbook s a reminder so the loose prints are not necessarily my best - however my tutor will get to see the others when the sketchbook goes off to her. 

Task 2 (Project 2)

• One positive masked monoprint

• One negative masked monoprint

Task 3 (Project 3)

• Two contrasting masked prints in two colours exploiting positive and negative shapes

• A selection of prints showing experiments in texture and surface detail

• Backdrawn monoprints

Part 4 (Project 4)

• Four contrasting monoprints on different subjects demonstrating at least two combined techniques

Last Minute Panic - Backdrawing Revisted

It was only when selecting my prints to send to my tutor that I realised I had not fully completed the backdrawing segment. I had completed several drawings using backdrawing but all of these had come from photographic sources rather than being drawn from life. I had also not followed through with my intention of trying out Gauguin's technique of drawing directly onto the back of relatively thin paper to see if that would give me a finer line. I was away from home by this time and the weather was pretty rubbish so I decided to do this at West Yorkshire print workshop. I stopped at the florist across the road from the workshop to pick up a subject - lighting on a hyacinth in a decorative zinc pot (largely because it was the least expensive item in the shop!) .

As luck would have it I was the only person using the print room on that particular day so I was able to roll out several colours of ink onto the glass inking-up surfaces and do the back drawing directly over the surfaces without having to use plates of pieces or paper loaded with ink. I mixed up a warm pale green, a dark blue-green and a terra-cotta orange as well as using indigo and warm yellow inks without adulteration. For my first attempt I had the pot placed on a windowsill slightly above me. The only problem with this was that my position relative to the pot changed every time I changed colour because each colour was on a different section of the bench. There was a lot of accidental ink transfer in the background and I also realised that the flower was the lightest part with the background being slightly darker so I drew into the background with the indigo ink - I overdid it somewhat so decided to make another attempt.

On my second attempt I kept the plant next to me on the bench so I could move it and keep my position relative to it almost constant. First I drew the outline of the negative shapes around the flower before proceeding to draw into the body of the flower, bulb and pot. Overall this one was a bit more successful as I had resisted the temptation to draw into the background. The ellipse at the top of the flower pot was wildly inaccurate however.

My final attempt was a close up of a section of the flowers. I was happier with this effort and was pleased with the relative subtlety that the technique of drawing directly onto the back of thin Japanese paper allowed. 

Random Sketchbook Pages

Pictured Below are some of the sketchbook pages I have completed during part 1 which I cannot categorise to fit within any particular one of the projects

Christmas Robin design

Out in Naples and Vacuum Packed Person

Large Doodle

Gesture drawing practice

Drawings inspired by Georgia O-Keefe
Exhibition Visit

Is it Just a Pump?

The drawing above was prompted by a MOOC course I did about medical humanities - there were interviews with cardiac transplant surgeons and transplant recipients as well as artists and writers about whether the heart is a simple pump or carries a greater significance to us as it is portrayed in literature and art. It was an interesting and stimulating course. 

Gesture Drawing

Gesture Drawing

Out and About in Naples

Research Point: Texture

Find some contemporary printmakers who rely heavily on texture in the prints. What sort of textures have they used to create effects? How well has it worked?

For the purposes of this research point I will confine my research to monoprints. It is clear that there are many other textured forms of printmaking but I need to keep it narrow to stop this becoming an unmanageably large research point. 

Howard Jeffs

Howard Jeffs uses many different forms of printmaking in his work. His most recent work is using lino etching but I am only going to consider his monoprints here. 

The artist states that he works very quickly and spontaneously around a theme. He discards many of the resulting prints. He will also add more ink over the ghost image after the first pass of a plate through the press in order to develop an image further. He is enthusiastic about monoprinting because of the freedom it gives to experiment (1)

Click on the links below to see examples of Jeffs' monoprints online. 

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHKabv5TG-B6uPNMPgYLDTeROx2DiO5r4Eq-OL53ZA9QDTwJoAwTPiFGyMuXSMaNPIWlisshjKKpW9LgTgSBYC9fuIW-ZLpNkzGcgWx11uxYF5zmLUo-tTAEttnDBh860bAdhlNoDjws/s1600/No-9-Sunflowers-on-Edge-of-.jpg

In the first image above I think I can spot marks made by a fine spray of solvent as well as dry brush marks and marks made by scraping away ink with a sharp implement.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjliDeVRDS1IcoIQvic-ItBkn-ji0ZsThA-gu9CHiEGSTPl6_N8Jkt4FGekvqxC4Bw9DYPmxJhckWigJIhPJuo77OHIS9SJuhlDJA1RY7sWulgewaW2OL4-dqKmGVhJ2N7X5TUoQDVBBX4/s1600/Howard+jeffs.jpg 

In this image of a starry sky, the cloudy subtle marks in the sky are made using solvent. The stars themselves are made by sprinkling magnesium powder over the blue ink before printing. 

http://bathartistprintmakers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Howard-Jeffs-Wild-Grass-Field-France-Monotype-58-x-75-cms3.jpg

In the image of the grassland with a red sky I suspect actual grasses may have been used as masks. There is use of solvent again to create a cloud in the sky as well as a granular texture between the grasses at ground level which I cannot determine how he has achieved. 

The first image of sunflowers reminds me very much of work by Anslem Kiefer Click Here to see and example of Kiefer's work on the Guggenheim museum's website. The sunflowers are dark against a more colourful background. The coloured layer will have been printed first and then the plate re-inked with the very dark ink - this was then worked into subtractively allowing the bright base layer to show through where the ink has been wiped and scraped away.

Tim Southall 

Click Here to see a selection of monotypes on the artist's website Individual works or a slideshow of his works can be viewed by clicking on an image. 

I first encountered Southall's work when I visited the National Original Print Exhibition at Bankside Gallery. His monotype 'Miramar' was displayed and can also be viewed on his website via the link above. He is also a painter and I think that this is in evidence in his approach to the monotypes - they are 'painterly' in nature. 

The prints appear that they may have been made in multiple layers and they are rich in texture and colour. They appear to be inspired by landscapes but are not emphatic in their description. They remind me of the concept of the sublime: That is the feeling of awe or almost fear in the presence of nature or landscape - this is also exemplified by works such as Turner's 'Snow Storm' shown below. 

• Snow Storm - Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth
• • JMW Turner 1842 Oil on Canvas

Southall's work is also reminiscent of stormy seas or glowing sunsets. 

In terms of texture it is possible to identify some of the sources from looking closely at the works. In 'Fate Unfolds' and 'Animal Uprising' he appears to have used threads and a loosely woven fabric such as the scrim used by printmakers for wiping etching plates. 

In 'The Tempest' is that a  woven onion bag or a piece of fishing net?. On 'Downpour' I suspect he might have placed ink diluted with solvent at the top of the plate and then tilted it to allow it to dribble down. On ' Ripples in the Sand' it is possible he may have used a palette knife or a piece of cardboard in a squeegee-like motion to create those ripples. I'm not sure I have gleaned the techniques successfully but there is plenty of food for thought and techniques to try out here. 

Theresa Gadsby-Bourner

In contrast to the violence and agitation of many of Southall's works, Gadsby-Bourner's works are quieter and more tranquil.
Click Here to see some of the artist's monoprints or her website 

Many of her prints have compositions of horizontal blocks of colour like horizons in a pastoral landscape but also with vertical components which could be reeds or grasses. This combination of horizontal and vertical with only occasional diagonals and the balance of colours in the composition which seems to be instinctive give a pleasing restful feel to the works. 

In many of her monoprints there is a granular texture or an appearance a bit like ice-crystals or frosted glass. The appearance is similar to that which is obtained when salt is sprinkled onto wet watercolour paint. I wonder whether this is achieved in some kind of similar way - sprinkling something on which absorbs and lifts the ink from the plate. Alternatively it could be that a very fine spray of solvent has been misted over oil-based ink and the effect of the solvent arrested quite rapidly. 

Morgan Doyle

Morgan Doyle appears to be a very prolific artist. Visiting his website there are many many drawings and paintings as well as series after series of monoprints. Click here to link to the Artist's website

Some of his work appears to be based on the urban landscape but may others are completely abstract. The artist has used multiple colours and techniques in most of the abstract works. He has manipulated the ink with solvent as well as scraping and pulling it about. He seems to also work with inks of different viscosities as well as impressing textures into the ink. 

Anne Moore

Produces decorative textured monotypes. Click here to link to examples of monotypes on the artist's website

 They made using mutiple layers of ink. They frequently have very well balanced use of colour giving a pleasing aesthetic. They are highly textured. In some cases linocut elements are included. In others everyday objects can be detected such as bubblewrap and possibly corrugated card. 

References

(1) Jeffs, H in Printmakers' Secrets by Anthony Dyson. Bloomsbury Visual Arts, London 2009 - reprinted 2016

Image Sources

(1) http://www.tate.org.uk/art/images/work/N/N00/N00530_10.jpg