Exploring the Art of Printmaking

Inspiration abounds when we are given the opportunity to participate in the artistic process. After seeing a talk / demo by master printmaker Dan Welden at Gallery 11 West, it resurrected my urge to get back to exploring the intaglio printmaking process. At a current CEEDs workshop with Dan and East End Arts workshop with ChrisAnn Ambrey, I created a few small solar plates that I have been working with. Here you will see a few different monoprints that all started with the same 4 x 5" plate. Intaglio, aquatint, chin-colle, additive and subtractive color . . . explore the process and embrace the results. You can never quite "see" what it will be until it is unveiled on the press. 

The print on the left is intaglio print with black ink. I did not get tremendous detail in the lower right circular area because I decided to process my etching screen without an aquatint process. I was interested in seeing what would happen. The aquatint would have allowed more of the shading detail to come through, without it only the darks and lights are very processed. But sometimes less is more. I have been having so much fun with this mighty and powerful little design. Second printing, I added a bit of color, used a brush to add circular detail and rubbed less ink off the plate before printing.

These two monoprints include Chine-colle, including thin pieces of mulberry paper.

These two are experiments with the inking process and imbedding different mulberry pieces.

This example is the plate double pressed with an offset. Although this is interesting, there is so much I can see to change the outcome of this idea.  One color, full offset, minimize the  edge ink. I'm open to all suggestions.

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​Art is best when shared!