Monoprinting with Inktense
I’m creating 52 works by May 2024. With the finish of these works, Red Playground 1,2, and 3, I now have now made 6 of my target 52 works.
This time I’m completing the set of three in one blog and one video. Please let me know if you like the longer or shorter versions in the comments below.
Pretreatment
Monoprinting with Inktense on the roughest paper yet has produced my favourite abstract works so far!
I really rev up the intensity of pretreatment of the papers for my newest works, Red Playground 1, 2 and 3, by wadding up the paper, then soaking, staining, and marking with Inktense. They are the most dimensional yet!!!
But first, I flatten them as much as possible with my heated plate press. In the end, the paper is lovely and crunchy, so it is perfect for my new set of works. I look forward to solving new problems that arise from mono printing on the crunchy paper because I’ve discovered that working through problems increases my creativity.
Click here to read “Creating on Really Rough Paper: The 4 Problems I Solved”.
Using circular card plates to mono print, I have trouble transferring the red inktense design to the really rough paper. So, I cold-press it several times in order to get the strength I want.
The yellow Inktense monoprint provides little contrast between the yellow and the paper, even with flattening the mono-print many times in the press, So, I make a stronger solution of yellow and resolve my pressing difficulties by discovering of two of my rollers; one for ink printing and one for rolling clay. Both are perfect for transferring the ink from the card to the crunchy paper.
I love the contrast created when I add the blue Inktense to the compositions. I’ve resolved the earlier hiccups that arose with application of the other two primary colours. So, printing with blue goes rather smoothly. In fact, I am buoyed by the outcome.
The difficulty I experience from monoprinting with Inktense on these works forewarns me that the crayon mark making will be a real challenge. It is one I was glad to meet because I sense the outcome would be interesting and, if nothing else, I will learn a thing or two.
Please watch, “Inktense Monoprinting on Crazy Rough Paper”
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The Inspiring works
Monoprinting
monoprint progressions
Then I bring out my Caran D’ache crayons. I LOVE these crayons. They are very highly pigmented and go on most paper rather easily without leaving the marking debris often left by ordinary crayons. The crunchy paper support forbids me to treat it tenderly. Several times I have to literally strike the surface with the crayon to make marks on the paper, as I skip over the ridges in the paper.
The roughness resulting from the intense pretreatment created many problems I had to solve. I fully embrace problem solving as one of the most fruitful ways I can be creative.
This may be my favourite set of works so far, principally because it breaks well outside the bounds of what I normally make. It certainly stands apart next to my small collection of earlier abstracts. Click here to see those.
I invite you to watch the video to watch the dynamic creation of these three works by clicking here.
Finished Works
Which of the three Red Playground works do you like the best? Please let me know in the comments below.
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Is there a better title?
‘Red Playground 1’, ‘Red Playground 2’, and ‘Red Playground 3 ‘are working titles. I’d appreciate your suggestions for a final title. Post them in the comments below or in the comment section on any of the videos of the series.
