Watercolor: Printmaker Adjusting the Press

Printmaker Adjusting the Press 5 x 6.8 Watercolor on Bristol paper
I've been sorting through my reference photo library, preparing another series on interiors (windows, genre scenes), but I thought a mini series of paintings, based on printmakers at work, would be a nice little side theme. Singular focus has always been challenging for me, so I'm padding my plan.

Collograph: Reader

Reader 6.8 x 6.3 Collograph with watercolor
This is the same printmaking and plate-building process I described in this post. The process shots begin at the bottom.
Available for sale here.

The plate was inked with Daniel Smith water-based black, and printed on my friend JMC's Blick mini-press. The result is in black & white in the above photo, and then painted with watercolor at the top of this post. The print has wonderful texture from all the different ink-holding patterns glued to the plate's surface. The plate was inked & printed again à la poupée with color (print not shown), which is why you can see leftover color on the plate in the photo.

You can see the various textures if the items I've adhered to the plate in this close up. The first layer of matboard has been cut & peeled away in the spaces of the t-shirt, the book binding and the hair on the figure to hold more ink in those recesses.


I'm using a piece of scrap matboard, with a pencil drawing of a figure reading, sealed front and back with a thin coat of Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish. In this photo, I'm attaching (with the same Gloss Medium & Varnish) random things from around the house trimmed into the shapes where I want various textures on the plate.

Watercolor: Early Bird Breakfast

Early Bird Breakfast 17 x 20 Watercolor on paper
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Watercolor: Printmaker at Work

Printmaker at Work 5 x 6.5 Watercolor on BFK Rives paper

Collograph: The Written Word

The Written Word (A/P) 9.75 x 7 Collograph with watercolor
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So, let's say you want to make a print, but you only have matboard and an exacto knife. The process starts at the bottom of this post.

I laid the blotted paper on top of the inked plate, and covered the back of the paper with a sheet of wax paper so I could rub with the baren and the wooden spoon without marring the still-wet paper. After lots of rubbing and checking, I'm pulling the print. After it dried, I added watercolors (above). I'm looking forward to using oil based inks and a press for this one, to pull a small edition for adding other mediums later (colored pencil, gouache, inks, etc.)

I've coated the plate with Daniel Smith Water-based inks, using a bristle brush, and here I'm wiping areas with newsprint. I've got a sheet of paper soaking in water, and a towel ready to blot it just before I print (the inks dry fast on the plate, so you have to move quickly).

This is the back of a piece of matboard, with a pencil sketch and a coat of Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish on the front and back. After drying overnight, I incised areas with an exacto knife where I want ink to settle into line work. In other places, I've outlined shapes and peeled them away to create tiny wells to hold ink. I re-coated the plate with gloss medium three times during the cutting to hold things down if the cuts were close together, or when I got overzealous with tearing away shapes.

Monotype: Early Retirement

Early Retirement 6.8 x 8.8 Light Field Monotype & Watercolor on paper
Process shots begin at the bottom of this post.
Another post on light field monotypes using mylar is here, in case you want to try one.

In this shot, I'm pulling the print. It came off lighter than I wanted, but it's still salvageable with the addition of some watercolors later. There are all sorts of interesting textures from the print process that unfortunately aren't visible in the shot above, even underneath the watercolor. Lots of mottled textures I couldn't duplicate if I tried - examples of sweet surprises from printmaking.

The mylar sheet is laid on a piece of matboard (cut to the same size) on the press bed, and then it's pressed against a sheet of soaked & blotted Arches Cover paper.

With a reference photo of Mister Magoo nearby, and Caran D'Ache water-soluble crayons, water and a bristle brush, I'm painting and drawing - in combination - on a mylar sheet (.005 Matte Draft Film).

Watercolor: Sour Green Apples & Wine

7 x 9.25 Watercolor on paper
Available for sale here.

Watercolor: Mermaid Intern

Mermaid Intern 4.75 x 6 Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico paper
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It's hot and windy in the desert today, so I'm painting swimmers.

Collograph: Back Yard Cat Bath

Back Yard Cat Bath, 6.75 x 8.5 Collograph [#1 of 5] with Watercolor and Colored pencil
Available for sale here.
Process shots begin at the bottom of this post.

While visiting my friend JMC, I used some of her water-based inks on the plate, and a sheet of soaked & blotted Arches cover paper to pull two prints (one in black, and another with a little color added a la poupee') on her little Dick Blick baby press. I'll be curious to see how this prints with oil based etching inks, but I wanted to avoid the fumes in the house, so that will wait till another day. For now, the first print (above) is ready for some watercolor & colored pencil.
I've cut the first layer of mat board away to become an ink-holding reservoir in the stripes of the towel wrapped around the cat to give it cat-shaped volume, and after brushing a diluted layer of gloss Medium & varnish on areas I'd like to print dark, I've sprinkled carborundum, and then sealed it the next day with two more layers of the same varnish.
I've used Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive glue for linear elements; facial features, limbs, hedges and architectural outlines. The cat is made from pieces of cotton balls, the hair on the figures is kitchen twine, and their clothing is kleenex tissues. The ground texture is saran wrap... I was winging this, and the kitchen was my best source for scrap materials. :o)
With a reference photo close by, I'm using a piece of mat board as a plate, and building texture with tissue, cellophane, string and glue. Each item is adhered to the plate with Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish.

I've listed some new art in my Ebay Store. You can browse here.

Watercolor: Independence Day

Independence Day 5.5 x 9 Watercolor on Strathmore Bristol paper
Available for sale here.
Painted from a borrowed flickr photo over the July 4th weekend as a study for a larger painting with another figure added to the scene. She's on the cusp of young adulthood, so I'll have to imagine a narrative about leaving the nest before I add the other figure in the final piece.

Watercolor: Summer Sunday

Summer Sunday 6 x 7.5 Watercolor on BFK Rives paper
Painted today from a photo taken on a breezy summer afternoon in the back yard. DC was reading a magazine and dozed off (though he'd deny this), so I grabbed the camera and started plotting a watercolor themed after reading and napping; two of my favorite subjects. (And apparently - his favorite subjects too.)