Sketchbook days 28, 29 Monoprints

I chose a selection of cylindrical objects to draw.  I chose tins and jars from the kitchen with a variety of heights and diameters.

I first tried a light pencil drawing of the objects.  Then I put some green acrylic paint on a sheet of glass and rolled it to give an even covering.  I placed this under the page of my sketchbook with the drawing and went over the lines again, giving a reversed print on the back.  I had forgotten Sian's tip about using a drop of detergent in the paint to make it spread more easily and to delay drying.  I found therefore that the paint dried too quickly to get a good print.

I tried again with a different brand of acrylic paint.  I also used more paint.  This gave a more satisfying result and I liked the accidental texture which was produced.

The left hand picture above shows the imprint left on the glass after the drawing had been made.  The right hand picture shows the print made from it.  Unfortunately, again the paint dried too quickly in a warm room.

I tried again with yet a different brand of acrylic paint.  This had a slightly more runny consistency and seemed to work quite well.  I quite like the vague shadowy quality.

The above shows a different technique, when I painted the shapes onto the glass sheet and took a print from it.  I quite like the faded portions.  It would take a bit of experimentation to find just the optimum balance of wet/dry of the paint before taking the print.  I could also experiment with the pressure on the paper.  In this case I just used pressure from my hand.  I like the top of the container at the front left of the drawing above.

I remembered that I had some water-based printing ink from some years ago and looked it out to try.  It had lasted well and was still usable.  It had a much longer drying time and gave a very satisfactory result, although I thought I had used a bit too much ink.

I tried re-rolling the paint on the glass sheet without adding any more and drew the shapes again.  This gave a more satisfying result.  I think it worked best of all my attempts and I am very pleased with it.

Lastly, I spread more printing ink on the glass sheet and drew into it with a cotton bud and the wooden end of a paintbrush.  I took four prints from it, the first two above using just the pressure of my hand and the final two using a roller with firm pressure.  I was quite pleased with these, the second one, I think being best.

I really enjoyed today's exercise.  It totally involved me with a sense of play and enjoyment and made me forget temporarily a headache and sore throat.  There remain some more ideas I'd like to try using monoprints so I shall return for another day of play some time.