Monotype & Watercolor: Garden Bench

Garden Bench 5x7 Caran D'Ache Monotype with watercolor
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From a sketch done at Descanso Gardens, near the Rosarium...

Woodcut & Watercolor: Sleep

Sleep 9 x 12 Woodcut & Watercolor on Arches 88 paper (Artists' Proof)

Monotype: Sunday Paper in the Park

Sunday Paper in the Park, 4x4 Monotype with Watercolor & Colored Pencil
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The petite readers I've been working on this week - and 20 other paintings & prints, will be exhibited tomorrow night, Friday, Sept 28th at the Canyon Theatre Guild Gala Fine At Invitational. The fine art exhibit & fund raiser will kick off the annual street painting festival this weekend. Tickets to the Friday night Gala are available at the Canyon Theatre Guild box office.

After moving ink around, and tapping it out of light areas, I'm ready to print.
Pulling the monotype.
You can see the amount of ink left on the plate after the print was pulled. Another sheet of soaked and blotted paper was pressed against the plate to make a faint but suggestive ghost print.

First washes of watercolor on the monotype after the ink was dry, followed by colored pencil.

Monotype: Turning the Page

Turning the Page 4x4 Monotype, Watercolor & Colored Pencil
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MKH was sitting in our apartment in Rome, searching for Italian fabric shops. The light in Italy makes every quiet little scene a potential painting or print. The sense that it's fleeting and lovely, so you have to stay alert to capture each and every one, is just about overwhelming.

Pulling the light out of the image by wiping away the ink with paper towels and pointy tools.

Moving the plate to the press.

Pulling the monotype; this part is always a surprise. The pressure from the press moves ink around and changes some of the textures and values in ways you don't anticipate. It's a lesson in flexible expectation.

The monotype.
The ghost print.

Monotype, Watercolor & Colored Pencil: Read to Me

Read to Me 4x4 Monotype, Watercolor & Colored Pencil
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I've included a few more process images in this post in response to emails from new subscribers asking for details on how to make a monotype. There are lots more process shots in the archives of this blog - you can search for monotype to see them. In the meantime, here are the basics from this one:

Black etching ink rolled out on glass, with a brayer, a phone book and a thin plate of copper.
Rolling ink on the plate with the brayer.
After pulling the image out of the ink - a subtractive process, using pastel stomps, rolled paper towel and q-tips.
Pulling the monotype from the plate after a trip through the press.
Pulling a ghost print from the plate, since there was enough ink to suggest the image on a second sheet of paper.
After the ink is dry on the monotype, adding watercolor to start the final process. Colored pencil was added later.

Monotype, Watercolor & Colored Pencil: Brain Breakfast

Brain Breakfast 4.5 x 6.5 Monotype Ghost, Watercolor & Colored Pencil
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After I pulled this figurative monotype last Fall, I had enough ink on the plate to lift two faint ghost prints. Brain Breakfast started as the ghost in the center of the line up below; I added watercolor washes, and colored pencil on top of the ink this weekend.

Watercolor: Pink & White Roses

Pink & White Roses 10 x 14 Watercolor
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A kitchen counter painting with bright Fall light in the early morning. I think this is my favorite season-light for painting still life.

Watercolor: Dry Dock in Oxnard

Dry Dock in Oxnard 6 x 8 Watercolor
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This started as a sketch during a visit with my step father while he worked on his sail boat. The geometry and curves of boat hulls never fail to give me the urge to paint.

Watercolor: Floating with Daddio

Floating with Daddio 10.5 x 13.5 Watercolor
Private Collection

Watercolor: Yellow Roses

Yellow Roses 3.5 x 3.5 Watercolor on Pine Block
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Monotype, Watercolor & Colored Pencil: Iris

Iris 5x5.5 Monotype Ghost Print with Watercolor & Colored Pencil
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I rolled the ink on the plate pretty heavy for this one, and got two ghosts after pulling the monotype. You can still see remnants of ink on the plate (below) after three trips through the press. Iris is from the first ghost print. The monotype and the 2nd ghost are in my flat files, waiting for whimsy & fun with other mediums.

Watercolor: Pears & Lemons in the Sun

Pears & Lemons in the Sun 3.5 x 3.5 Watercolor on Pine Block
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Watercolor: Betrothed

Betrothed 3.6 x 7 Watercolor on paper
Reserved for exhibit and sale at the gala "Under the Tuscan Moon", Canyon Theater Guild, Newhall, CA Sept 28th

The process shots are in sequence below. I had a lot of fun with this one - working on it as a watercolor glazing demo at the Boddy House Gallery this weekend.

The last day of the Boddy House show is this Thursday, so come up and say hello.

Watercolor on Wood: Chickadee

Chickadee 3.5 x 3.5 Watercolor on wood
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Watercolor: Frisbee Dog

Frisbee Dog 3.5 x 3.5 Watercolor on wood
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Watercolor: Jonagold

Jonagold 5.5 x 8 Watercolor
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Collograph: Waiting for Spring

Waiting for Spring, 5x7 Collograph, Watercolor & Colored Pencil

Work in process shots of this one start at the bottom. My reference material came from three separate photos; I was aiming for a portrait related to waiting, or anticipation, in good company.

First washes of watercolor...
The collograph, drying in the studio.
After inking and wiping the plate, and a trip through the press; pulling a print.

Cutting construction paper, with one of the reference photos nearby, and mounting it to matboard.

Monotype Ghost & Watercolor: Picnic in the Grass

Picnic in the grass 4.5 x 6.5 Monotype Ghost & Watercolor
I finished painting this ghost print while sitting at the Boddy Carriage House Gallery in Descanso Gardens. It's been a bit warm this week, but it's still a beautiful place to paint. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by - the show is up till Sept 13th.