“Trace monotypes are made by laying paper down on an inked piece of plexiglass, then drawing a design on the back of the paper. The drawing tool presses the paper against the ink, making a dark line on the front of the paper.”
– Ruthie V, circa yesterday
Today I found an artist who used both the trace, and the print from the press to make a positive/negative figure study.
Madeline Roseske, monoprint (positive & negative)
A positive from the figure drawing teacher: The contour lines are a beautiful balance with the textured tones. Take another look at that shading. To make it, the artist ran their finger (or another soft tool?) across the surface of paper, not seeing the result until the page was lifted. Soft pressure makes these marks, but the artist couldn’t see what they were doing until it was done. Drawing blind! Just one move made the spine, and it worked. Elegant.
A negative from the figure drawing teacher: Just because you can draw the whole detailed foot, doesn’t mean you should. I realize the bravery involved in drawing hands and feet, typically people skip them out of fear, but in this case the wiggly little beans distract from the graceful simplified form, and this print would have been quite lovely without it.
Those ghosted square shaped marks – Nikki Barber, do you think these are brayer marks from uneven inking? Or something else?
Some people need a little extra push to get them to sit and draw. I’m one of those people. I’m a chronic multi-tasker. I tend to be scattered, I take on too much, and whatever I’m doing I feel like I should be doing something else. One very potent and wonderful invitation to focus is …
Monotypes are like a painter’s sketch, run through the press. They’re both more immediate, and more re-workable than any other form of printmaking. Once through the press, you can draw or paint on it, or you can do something else and run it through again. It’s instant, and it’s surprising. Every time I do it …
This is day 14 of our 30 day creative challenge! To learn more about this 30SAL challenge, click here. We’ve got a playful challenge today, so put away your adult and get your little kid self ready! Set something small and round like a glass marble or an egg on a piece of paper. Place your …
I hosted our first online session yesterday! Part of the class was in the studio with me, watching the slide lecture on a big projector screen, part of the class was online, watching my computer screen-share from home. It worked great! The class was active, we had an age range of 32-78, and people worked …
Monotype, positive/negative
Yesterday I talked about trace monotypes:
Today I found an artist who used both the trace, and the print from the press to make a positive/negative figure study.
A positive from the figure drawing teacher: The contour lines are a beautiful balance with the textured tones. Take another look at that shading. To make it, the artist ran their finger (or another soft tool?) across the surface of paper, not seeing the result until the page was lifted. Soft pressure makes these marks, but the artist couldn’t see what they were doing until it was done. Drawing blind! Just one move made the spine, and it worked. Elegant.
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Some people need a little extra push to get them to sit and draw. I’m one of those people. I’m a chronic multi-tasker. I tend to be scattered, I take on too much, and whatever I’m doing I feel like I should be doing something else. One very potent and wonderful invitation to focus is …
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