Finally, I have achieved what was beginning to feel like an impossibility. I have now created my first spot-free print. I blew on and shook the paper before the print was taken. The masks were treated similarly. I was squeaky clean with my ink rollers, plate etc. Hopefully not just a flash-in-the-pan. I shall, of course, endeavour to repeat my success with the two colour print for Project 3 etc.
Learning Outcomes:
Be scrupulous with cleanliness on roller, plate and rolling surface
Remove dust motes and debris from paper stock
Ensure masks are similarly dust-free
Clean hands of ink spots
Take time over lining up of the paper
Take time to ensure all areas of the paper have been smoothed over the back of the paper onto the print plate
Take a break and assess outcomes
Be consistent in approach
Very pleased with myself.
Similarly spot-free, but has visible lines from rolling out the ink onto the print plate
These lines from ink roller are possibly avoidable by using a wider brayer. I added transparent base to the water-based inks to make them workable for a longer period. This has weakened the colour intensity somewhat. I shall work on this further after a coffee break.
I think I’ve finally worked out/remembered about what is causing repeated spots on my prints so far. I say “remembered” as I have an inkling of a memory that I was advised, either in the text, or by my tutor directly via Zoom, to ensure the print paper itself was clear of dust and debris. Needless to say I have not been doing this. Hence repeated spots before my eyes.
Today’s prints on cheap inkjet printer paper
It’s a real shame that I did not twig this earlier on in the day, as today’s prints may have been saved from spoiling. I shall keep them all to remind me of the importance of clean, dust-free print paper. They may be put to good use as collage material at a later date. Tomorrow I hope to produce spot-free prints due to my new dust-free regime.
Having moved on to Project 2 of Part 1, I thought I’d have a second stab at getting some decent basic Monoprints. Although the placement on the page has improved from my initial attempts, I still keep getting spots on my prints. I also have yet to produce one that I am completely happy with as far as composition is concerned…
…sadly, after today’s efforts in my studio, this dissatisfaction remains.
Best one from todayGhost print
Using up leftover ink
I’ve decided to accept what I have achieved, though this may be unsatisfactory, and move on to more complex positive and negative prints using masks, as I was having slightly better results from these. I shall attempt to improve my outcomes as I go, rather than doggedly pursuing perfection without moving forward. I need to review my process carefully to avoid spots etc.
I’ve always liked spirals. I’d drew them constantly as a child. Starting in the centre of my paper, I’d link them up to form a plant like structure with spiral branches leading off to further sprouting spirals until I’d run out of space. Then I’d gift these to family members (whether they appreciated them or not).
A life spiralling into control
I have mixed feelings about Matisse’s Snail (1953). I’m always trying to make sense of the form of a snail within these sections of colour. Rather than bang my head against the wall in pursuit of the impossible, I think I’d get more joy from appreciating how he has chosen colours that bounce pleasantly off one another.
I learned last week that my ceramic tile plate lacked the definition required for clean sharp print edges, so I returned to using a glass plate. The template happened to fit this glass plate all but perfectly. I brushed the ink onto the plate this time, rather than using a brayer like last week.
Have the workings of a decent collage from leftover stencil and templatesInitial print from template with “f” holes pre cutUnfortunate lines left due to imperfectly fitting stencilGhost printGhost print (once initial print, first ghost print already taken and template removed)
I still need to be more scrupulous with keeping plate and inking surfaces clean to avoid spots on my prints. I’m pleased that the placement of the paper has improved markedly on initial experiments. This is due to lining up the long side of the plate parallel to the table edge. Then by lining up the short edge of the paper parallel to the short edge of the plate and then rolling the paper carefully down onto the plate – keeping both the long and short edges parallel.
I am as yet confused by definitions of what constitutes a negative print and a positive plate and vice-versa. I need to return to the course text and update this post accordingly.
Finally I got back into the actual fun of printing. I think these templates of my violin turned out rather well. The initial prints were a bit “gloopy”. Less ink on the plate next time. Plus there is a noticeable pattern left by the brayer as I inked the ceramic plate. I’m not altogether unhappy about that texture, though it would be nice to have a nice consistent print.
Monoprints using a template as a mask to create negative prints from a positive mask
The next print was a ghost print – this first was a bit fuzzy around the edges. Then I removed the template and took a print of what ink remained. This gave slight gradations of ink from both within and beyond the area covered by the template. It has also left a nice outline in darker blue.
Monoprints using a stencil as a mask to produce positive prints with a negative mask
The next stage was to use the “waste” paper from cutting the template. Using it as a stencil, I followed the same procedure as with the initial prints. This produced pleasing results. I am also much better at lining the paper up along the edge of the plate so that the print is parallel and not wonky.
These prints took 50 minutes to produce. This is worth bearing in mind for planning future studio time after work.
I chose the Van Gogh as I drew the featured image above partly as a more optimistic reaction to it.
I bought the jug at a charity shop with the intention of putting yellow flowers in it to offset the blue. I found a full unused set of Conte sticks at a car boot sale for a bargain price and used these to create my drawing. I feel I have taken Van Gogh’s subject of these gorgeous flowers and produced an enlivened atmosphere. My flowers are far from overblown. As I use a complementary colour palette, it brings them to life in a vibrant way. Van Gogh was no doubt going for an atmosphere with a bit more gravitas. He appears to be expressing a melancholy state with his late blooms all but died off. His palette is very “buttery” and similar earthy colours have been used to depict this timeless and iconic image. However, these have also been trimmed with cobalt blue which, in my opinion, saves the over all effect from being too bland. Given the man’s untimely end, the artist’s use of brush strokes surely must be expressive of his general state of mind.
I would, of course, like to do more than draw “pretty pictures”. Personal expression around a subject comes partly naturally, through mark-making, but also through one’s colour and compositional choices. Perhaps I am wrong to think that expressions of joy are less “serious” than those of melancholy. Although it would be beneficial to be taken seriously as an artist. I feel it would be necessary to take oneself seriously first, but then not all of the time, surely, and only in as far as life in general should be viewed thus.
Ethel Sands
I saw this painting by Ethel Sands in the Fitzwilliam Museum the last time I visited Cambridge. Perhaps it was the blue patterned jug that caught my eye (There was one very similar item in the gift shop which I narrowly avoided buying) I like that the artist has “sneaked” a landscape into her still life. It avoids being too “chocolate box” by the use of primary colours and by the inclusion of the view onto the cemetery. Apart from first noticing the jug in the foreground, the sight of the crosses through the window dominate this image for me, though they take up so little space on the canvas. It’s as though Ethel Sands was pointing out the fact that death is never far away from us, even during uplifting summer days. It reminds me that just because we live in a land of plenty, doesn’t mean we always shall.
On Saturday I did some investigative play into cubist-inspired art. This is something I began in the previous (Drawing Skills) module. I began with drawing one large spiral on my iPad mini. Instead of colouring in between the lines I deliberately scribbled over them using the spiral as a guide only rather than as a rigid framework.
Printed spiral sketch from iPad
I then drew onto a printed copy which I then glued into my sketchbook.
I drew a line bisecting the spiral
I then drew four seperate spirals in my sketchbook.
Bisected and highlighted with white pencil
I then thought about my violin shape.
I need to find a way to turn this design into a successful print. Perhaps by using the calograph technique.
I then drew a simple horse design and cris crossed it at strategic points with white lines. I then highlighted areas with white pencil again and then shaded in others using a B pencil.
Oriental Poppies (O’Keeffe. 1927) speaks to me of unabashed sensuality – both in the viewing as well as (I dare to assume) in the process of creation itself. In an article with Griselda Pollock interviewing the artist (tate.org.uk), the possibility of her work having been “reduced by” associations with sexuality, is discussed. I would debate that by focussing on sexuality in art, one is somehow debasing the art – art being an extension of oneself. I don’t think sexuality or sensual pleasure, or their expression, are “out of bounds”. Surely this is more of a hangover from our puritanical protestant history, than something which should be encouraged right here, right now. I think that a woman, as well as a man, (if she is brave enough to do so) can express sensual associations through her work. Denying oneself this is surely to deny oneself a whole avenue of personal expression? Equality of the sexes means being on an even footing across the board, right? Failing that, we at least have the right to have our work, and therefore ourselves, treated with due respect. But I do agree that to focus solely upon the sensual aspects at the expense of other facets of the artist’s work, is a blinkered view.
In an ideal world, women would be able to express their sexuality/sensuality through their art, as men have for years, without fear of being branded “harlots” or becoming limited to doing that exclusively. In art, the possibilities are without bounds, except for those limitations the artists themselves place on their projects in order to enhance their practice. But, alas we do not live in that utopian fantasy.
Judy Chicago
It must have been incredibly frustrating for women artists, prior to the 1960s/70s sexual revolution, to attempt to elbow their way into a male dominated Art world. But this is what they eventually did. Women today are benefiting from that gender struggle. Although the fight for equality goes on, it is difficult to generalise about women’s struggles as though we were not all individuals. Do we benefit by grouping ourselves together as a generalised amorphous entity? Women’s rights need to be fought on an individual basis, I feel.
While not strictly speaking a “still life”, Judy Chicago’s installation speaks of the disparity between the sexes. As an artist of the female persuasion myself, I baulk at the level of confrontation involved in careers such as Judy Chicago’s. Women are not to be generalised as though we work as one unit. Women, as men, are subject to the ravages of daily life. The continuation of demands for men to change their behaviour needs to be directed back toward women as well. Who among us is letting the side down on a daily, moment by moment basis? My own hand could be up in the air right now. We do what we can. But we need to choose our battles wisely.
More like a section from a wallpaper pattern than the pleasing arrangement of items one has come to expect from a still life, there is something of the pub wall art about this that I rather like. It is an “OCD” approach to the genre. It does what it says on the tin. It is a collection of light bulbs. Whether it seeks to represent anything beyond that, I have no idea.
Squeak Carnwarth
Not strictly a still life, more of a message of hope. It is welcome right now.
Perhaps not the best sketch I’ve ever completed, but it illustrates my thinking adequately enough to move on to a finished design for my first positive/negative masked monoprint.
Design outline
From this outline, I produced the following design. I took several photocopies of this so that I could produce a few different masks.
Produced copies
I’m quite happy with the final first design. I’ve left out the bow on this occasion as it’s so much longer than the violin and would require my scaling the design down in order to fit in the bow. I will add this into the mix as well as any other items such as gloves and/ or musical notes in a later version, I think.
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