Monoprinting – Exclusively Original Prints.

What is Monoprinting? 

Monoprinting is a form of printmaking that has images  that can only be created once.

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With other printing technique you can create a basic plate first (it can be a piece of lino, wood or a metal plate (lithography, woodcut or etching) and then create multiple originals,which are really copies from the same template. But only Monoprinting actually creates unique originals.
Since I learnt the Mono printing technique, I was drawn towards this type of art. This is a real “paradise” for creative people. I produced a series of different images with people, animals etc. using a variety of “tools” for adding “special effects”, making prints interesting and exciting.

I would like to give some insight into Mono-printing for those of you, who have never come across this amazing technique before.

    

It does not allow you to make multiple copies of a single image. Only one impression may be produced by printing or making a collage on the surface. With the Mono-print technique an artist may alter the image in between impressions so that no two prints are absolutely identical. Mono-prints might also have additions of collage or hand painted elements.

My technique of Monoprinting.

("Smoker"- Monoprint by Nadine Platt)

To start with, I usually apply a thick blob of printing ink spread on any convenient flat surface, then make a drawing on it with a sharp stick as quickly as possible while the ink is still wet. After this, I put a piece of paper to cover the image and transfer the ink onto the paper, applying even pressure with a roller on the covering sheet of paper. I can never predict one hundred percent how the final image will appear. Sometimes I would have to remove the previous ink with the drawing upon it all together, re-apply another layer of ink and re-draw the whole picture again to achieve the desired result.
Mono-prints can be made by changing the type, colour and pressure applied on the ink to create different effects.

To make my print more interesting  I like using different printing colours such as black, blue and dark brown inks.


In my work, I am trying to catch details of the images and, at the same time, make them look free and spontaneous. Yes, spontaneity, unpredictability and different combinations of printmaking, drawing and painting all in one is what makes Mono printing an exciting and sometimes challenging process for me. One really has to be creative in the approach to producing images in mono printing. Once it’s imprinted on the paper, there is no turning back – you like it or hate it, destroy and start again.
There can  NEVER be  two identical prints.


Among other artists who used this this technique Georg Baselitz, a Contemporary German Artist and old masters Rembrandt and Degas. Rembrandt used to alter ink as “surface tone” where Degas produced hand painted etchings (although they would be considered to be more monotypes than mono prints), but still being referred to as Mono-prints.

 ("Golfers" -  Monoprint by Nadine Platt)

If you have questions regarding Mono printing, please contact me and also leave your comments and suggestions about other topics you would like to read about on my Blogs.


Please visit www.nadinegallery.co.uk website to see more images. 

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Thank you!  


 

Enjoying Art - meet Scott Bridgwood!

Last night  I had the pleasure of seeing a Solo Exhibition of a British Artist Scott Bridgwood organized by the Open Door Gallery. It is in a beautiful old English town named Market Harborough.

The Gallery is run by a charming, knowledgeable and welcoming lady Janet Pelling,
who is constantly introducing new talents to the local community
and to all those who appreciate and support art.

Being trained in the UK (Chelsea Art College, London) and in Italy (Rome, British Cultural Institute) Scott Bridgwood has been moving in the direction of figurative art.

 His works presented at the Exhibition show psychological and emotional studies of a woman. Carefully applied brushstrokes with perfect precision are often used to communicate to the viewer the mood of the model’s inner world. Scott is following more modern approach to depicting a female figure in the interior using different techniques and materials he skilfully plays with surfaces and shapes. Across most of his works Scott is using a light colours palette.
He is also creative with shadows, often stepping away from classical rules applying both warm and cold colours regardless of using warm tints on the most of the lit up areas of the bodies. Contrasting horizontal and vertical lines often add to the drama of his compositions.
Scott primarily works with oil on canvas. Having the eye of a good draftsman he sometimes uses charcoal to define, with an immaculate precision, selected parts of a depicted body. Introducing charcoal also adds to the spontaneity of a painting, giving a feeling of something fresh and unfinished. In his works Scot is placing his female models in classical and natural poses adding to the realism of his paintings.

Scott is a well know artist. He exhibited at such venues as the ICA and Westminster Gallery and widely across the British Midlands. He is also a winner of the prestigious Windsor and Newton, “Art in Lyddington” and “The Sock Gallery” in Loughborough awards. He teaches Life Drawing and Portraiture at the Leicester University and at Rawlings College of Leicester.

 If you are thinking of perfecting your artistic skills you are welcome to attend Scott’s Classes and workshops which are coming soon at the Open Door Gallery. Please visit their website http://www.theopendoorgallery.co.uk/  If you have already attended the exhibition or acquired a painting please share your thoughts or just leave a comment.

The Exhibition is on from 10th to 23rd  of May 2015. All are Welcome!