Texture & Printmaking - my focus this week!

 Another week has flown by...and yet more art works have been created. After all the excitement of the prospect of using texture within my work, I have come to a sudden halt in the creation of my collagraph prints. I have made a series of collage plates to print, but I am unable to gain access to my printing press (its buried under canvases, frames and boxes!!) So for now, I can show you the plates (which look quite beautiful in their own right!) and the series of mono prints I made last week. Due to the fact that all my painting/printing is done on my kitchen table at home, I have used water based printing ink (rather than my preferred choice of oil based ink) because it is SO much easier to clean up!! The down side of this for me is that the water based ink does not give such a subtle print. Until the time comes when I can clear a studio space somewhere, this is something I am going to have to deal with - and who knows where it might lead me on my experimental journey?

So, first here are the collagraph plates - made by painting with pva glue on cardboard, then when dry, the whole thing is varnished to make it waterproof. (it has to be waterproof because to print from theses plates, damp paper has to be used...if the surface of the plate is not sealed, the damp paper reactivates the glue and it all sticks together - Not good!!) I hope you get an idea of the lovely textures that can be achieved using this technique...when I get around to printing them, you will be able to see the  beautiful quality of line that this surface creates!

Barn Owl Collagraph Plate

Boobok Owlet Collagraph Plate

Boobok Owl Collagraph Plate

Barn Owl  Collagraph Plate 2

Woolley, Eagle Owl Collagraph Plate

Eagle Owl Collagraph Plate 2

The next set of images are mono prints - again using water based ink. (a mixture of acrylic paint and printing medium)

Eagle, monoprint

Falcon in flight, monoprint

Eagle Head, monoprint

Harris Hawk, monoprint

Eagle Owl, monoprint

Barn Owl, monoprint

Then, I played with them and added a bit of acrylic paint to add a hint of colour.... These now render the prints above non-existent. As its name suggests, a monoprint is a 'one of a kind' .

Eagle, monoprint with colour wash

Barn Owl, monoprint with colour wash

Falcon in flight, monoprint with colour wash

Eagle Owl, monoprint with colour wash

Hawk in flight 2, monoprint with colour wash

Eagle Head, monoprint with colour wash.

You can see the difference between a mono print and drawing -  these prints were made by drawing, but the act of drawing on the plate through the back of the paper  picks up extra ink which creates this atmospheric look to the image.

With 'texture' being a bit of a focus this week, I made a start on a large scale (3ft x 2ft) textured painting, using the acrylic texture paste I bought last week! Trying this new technique, I decided to use Woolley, a familiar subject to paint. I've only made a basic start - there's a long way to go on this one! I've used the texture medium both on its own, and mixed with the acrylic paint...what you see here is the 1st application. I'm working on framers board which I primed with gesso so it looks pretty stark black and white - I can't wait to get my teeth into this... Hopefully, I'll find some time in the next week - but its looking very busy... Sadly, this photo doesn't show the texture very well - hopefully it will become more apparent as the painting develops?

Woolley - Acrylic on Board 3ft x 2 ft

To finish this week's blog, I am pleased to show this next painting, and to wish its new owner a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

This is a portrait of 'Yuri', my friend Lon's dog. Slightly daunting, painting a portrait for a fellow artist, but I am pleased with the result!

'Yuri',  Acrylic, 10" x 12"

So that's me, all blogged out until next time!

Mandi ;)