VLOG - Simple Shape Monotypes | Let's Talk Art Blog

In this VLOG I'm creating some simple shape monotype prints to use in the initial collage layer of a new painting.

Have a read through my studio notes or head straight to the end of the post to find the video.

As with all my prints, they get trimmed and cut down into smaller pieces and re-arranged to cover the surface of new paintings, and these prints will be no different!

I'm using a new gel plate - larger than my usual ones and I noticed some interesting differences in performance. The new surface seems to hold onto paint in a way that left-behind-grunge is pretty much a given. My older plates seem to release paint more easily. But I'm a fan of painty grunge as it all adds interest to subsequent prints, and I rarely clean my plates as I enjoy the history of that build up!

I'm using a mixture of Liquitex, Reeves and Born paints (from Officeworks). I really only think about the colours, not the paint brand and I'm always mixing them up. Paints across all these brands (and I often include Matisse, Atelier, Golden and Jo Sonja) all seem to mix up happily together on the gel plate without any issues. Consistency of the paint is more of an indicator of whether they will mix well, than the brand name. The Matisse structure paints and some of my older Atelier acrylics are a bit thicker, so take a bit more rolling to get them even. But every print is an experiment - so I'm in my happy place with whatever happens...

Cardboard for Shapes:

Packaging cardboard is ideal for making the 'mask' shapes for these prints. It's relatively thin and easy to cut with scissors. I've used a dishwasher tablet box in this video, but I save things like cereal boxes too, for this purpose. As long as the cardboard is slightly shiny and glossy on one side, it should work fine. Any cardboard that's too absorbent won't leave enough paint behind on the plate. Hence putting the cut out shapes, shiny side down onto the paint surface.

Paper:

I've used Wet Strength Tissue paper for these prints as I'm going to be working on canvas for my next painting. I prefer to use tissue paper, over thicker papers when I'm working on canvas as I'm more confident about the paper adhering well to the canvas despite the weave of the fabric. But I often use standard white copy paper, or cartridge/easel/sketch paper for my prints if I'm working on boards, as the surface is smoother and it's easy to make sure I get good adherence to the flatter surface.

Check out this Vlog for tips on sticking collage papers.

Get Stuck Vlog

It's worth taking the time to rub gently round the edges of your shapes with your finger tips once the paper is over the top, as it will crisp up the imprint of the shapes.

tissue paper on top of a gel plate with cardboard shapes beneath — Painted gel plate, with card board shapes (shiny side down) and Wet Strength Tissue paper on top.

The First Print/ Graphic Print:

The first print was the 'graphic' print which picked up the paint from the plate around the cut out shapes, which act as a 'mask'. It's quite a dramatic high contrast print, especially if you use a dark coloured paint. To soften the effect but retain the graphic quality of this first print you could use lighter paint colours.

graphic monotype print in white and blue — Graphic print on Wet Strength Tissue Paper

Once I removed the cardboard shapes from the plate (I popped them out of the way, painted side up, to dry so I can re-use them), it's important to put impatience aside (which I'm not good at!) and leave the plate to dry fully before moving onto the next step. Drying time varies daily depending on studio conditions. I left this plate for about 10-15 minutes. If its a really wet day and I'm needing the print to progress a painting I will use a hairdryer on a cool setting to speed up the drying time - but it's generally not recommended to do that. I have inadvertently left the plate like this overnight because I forgot all about it and it's just fine the next day to take the second print.

gel plate with painted shapes in blue — Waiting for the paint to dry on the gel plate after pulling the Graphic print.

The Second Print - Ghost Print

Once the plate was fully dry I chose several contrasting colours that I thought would work well as the base layer for my next painting - two pinks and Unbleached Titanium. The key to getting a good Ghost print like this is to use a fairly thin layer of paint - so as you'll see in the video, I rolled out my colours, then re-rolled the plate to remove some of the paint - just to the point where I could start to see the outlines of the shapes underneath.

After laying a sheet of the Wet Strength Tissue over the top and giving it a firm rub to make sure the paper was fully in contact with the plate, I left it to dry for 10 minutes or so. The back of the paper needs to feel completely dry and not at all damp before you go for the big reveal!

And this was the result!

Lots of interesting visual textures, outlines, edges and marks where the wrinkles in the paper affected the take up of the paint. Plenty of grunge to play with there!

monotype gelli print in pink and blue — The Ghost print.

I used some previously printed offcuts of tissue paper to remove some of the excess paint that was left between the shapes (whilst it was still wet), after I pulled the first graphic print. I keep all my trimmed bits of paper to re-use in this way, so nothing gets wasted, and these pieces will find their way into a painting soon enough!