Textured and Combination Monoprints: Urban or Industrial Landscape - 1st Attempt

There has been a long gap between my posts because unfortunately I had some health problems in December and January but I'm fully recovered now and pleased to be getting back into the course. Now for the final project of part 1:

You have explored and used a variety of monoprinting techniques. They range from smooth single coloured layers to more complicated textures, lines and coloured layers.

Taking into account the opportunities for a different size and colour range in a single monoprint,  this project allows you the freedom to create prints from your own subjects ad imagination which combine two or more of the techniques you have already experienced. 

Try to find four contrasting subjects which will lend themselves to the different techniques...You can make several versions of the subject so that you have a selection to choose from before you send your work to your tutor. 

For my first subject I hit on a 'hard' landscape - either  urban or industrial. I had been frustrated and dissatisfied with my previous efforts to work with this subject and I had also been inspired by the techniques demonstrated and by the work of Cath Brooke Click Here to link to Cath's website  to look at industrial landscapes. 

I tried employing some of the techniques demonstrated by Cath - namely a combination of drypoint and monoprint with textured Chine Collé - to get to grips with the New York skyline after Stieglitz's photograph.  It was the very first time I had tried drypoint but I had read about it so thought I would have a go. I scratched the image into the plastic plate using an etching needle and another tool that created several lines at the same time. I then applied a thin layer of hawthorn stay open ink mixed with a touch of linseed jelly and rubbed it into the etched lines before wiping it away. I printed it onto damp paper using my tiny etching press.

Printing plate - drypoint etching of
cityscape after Stieglitz

The print was a little bit thin but not bad for a first attempt - this may have been for a number of reasons: too much linseed jelly, too much wiping, insufficient soaking of the paper. I would like to attend a class on drypoint to pick up some tips. I went on to print several of these - this is the advantage of using a drypoint as a base for a series of monotypes as it is relatively easy to have several prints to start with so you can afford to experiment (although the number of prints that can be taken from drypoint is limited by how long the delicate burrs  last).

First print from the plate

I had already prepared some Chine collé tissues with texture by rolling black ink over the tissue while laid over samples of textured wallpaper and crumpled foil (a bit like frottage/rubbing but using printing ink). On my next print I applied the Chine collé using permanent spray mount at the same time as printing the first layer with the drypoint. It is important to do this in the first layer as it needs to be in direct contact with the paper. It will not stick over the oil based ink. In the image below the chine collé is representing windows on the distant skyscraper (a texture from wallpaper) and representing cracks in the rendering in the upper building on the far left (texture from crumpled foil). I was quite pleased with the textural effect but went on to overprint with two monoprint layers. First I rolled a graduated dark blue to pale orange over the upper part of the plate before masking off the skyline to print the sky. The result wasn't so great - it was a bit grainy - the paper was drying out and I may not have added sufficient ink. 

Subsequently I masked off the area of the sky and overprinted a pale yellowy cream colour for the buildings.

After Stieglitz - Drypoint, Chine Collé and
monotype

I wasn't happy with this first attempt for a number of reasons. I hadn't really planned what colours I would use. I realised that having a dark sky relative to the buildings was problematic. Firstly because the more vivid colours of the sky were overpowering the buildings and jumping out at me. Secondly because I had chosen to make the windows dark on the buildings. Windows look dark during the day but at night you can't really see the windows unless they are illuminated. 

I had hoped that the hatching on the buildings at the front would be sufficient to make them more dominant and bring them forwards creating a sense of pictorial depth even if all the buildings were printed a uniform colour. This was not the case, especially with the addition of texture to the most distant skyscraper. A rethink was required. I tried out some colour schemes in my sketchbook

Sketchbook page trying out colours

I decided to keep it simple and just use different shades of the same colour (sonic lipstick pink). I again printed and applied the chine collé on the first pass. I masked off the distant buildings and sky and printed the foreground buildings in the vivid pink. I then added more linseed jelly and transparent medium to the ink. I inked up and wiped away the areas which I didn't want to print before printing the paler colour for the sky and the distant buildings (leaving the front of the distant skyscraper without overprinting). Unfortunately by this time, the paper was drying out so the sky came out grainy - I need to keep the paper moist in some way or work more quickly. 

The choice of colours wasn't great - the colour overpowered the drypoint and the registration was not great which really shows when you are using such a vivid colour.

Second attempt: drypoint, chine collé with
overprinting in shades of pink

I decided to try embellishing the drypoint by the addition of watercolour instead:

Drypoint and Watercolour 

This was somewhat better in terms of result but felt like cheating in terms of process. I realised that I was not demonstrating any of the skills I had used in part 1 so it wouldn't be a suitable assignment piece. 

Drypoint and watercolour textured with
impressions from kitchen roll

I then tried out monoprinting using water soluble coloured pencils as I had tried this at the beginning of part one and quite like the effect. I coloured the areas corresponding the the buildings and the sky quite thickly using the coloured pencils on a separate plate of the same size. I then overprinted this layer on top of the drypoint on very wet paper. The coloured pencil doesn't print evenly so the pencil marks create marks themselves which adds texture. This was somewhat helpful for the texture of the buildings but a bit distracting on the distant sky. 

Drypoint overprinted with water soluble
coloured pencil on wet paper

There was still quite a lot of the coloured pencil left on the plate so I had another try. This time I also experimented by not wiping the drypoint plate so completely - leaving a small amount of ink especially around the edges. This combined with the thin layer of remaining coloured pencil gave a more subtle effect and looked quite grey and grimy which is suitable for the subject matter. The small amount of remaining coloured pencil has given a subtly textured effect which is not overpowering. This was my preferred print of the bunch. 

Drypoint, incompletely wiped and overprinted
with a second pass of soluble coloured pencil

Ultimately, although I was more satisfied with my final print, I felt that this print was more about the drypoint then the effect of the monoprinting and therefore wasn't really right to demonstrate more than one technique from the unit. I learnt a lot with this process but probably won't be submitting this one to my tutor. 

What I learnt

• I like drawing in drypoint
• Drypoint can be combined with many other techniques to create monotypes
• Think about the layout of colours before you start printing
• Chine collé is very fiddly and sticky but can produce interesting effects
• It is possible to print more than once from a plate coated in soluble coloured pencil
• Incompletely wiping the drypoint plate is a good way to manipulate the image
• Letting the paper dry out before overprinting means it takes the ink less well and also makes registration less accurate because it shrinks slightly

Things to do and try

• Go on a drypoint course/workshop to learn more about this technique
• Get more creative with regard to wiping the drypoint plate
• Work faster of find a way to keep the paper wet between printing of additional layers