Print from memory - part 2

The brief was for a mixed media print.  I had decided that I wanted a yellow/red orange background so randomly put coloured acrylic washes on heavyweight cartridge paper. I had two pieces where I had used acrylic transfer - the images chosen quite randomly again - and I also covered these with thin acrylic washes.  I chose acrylic because I planned to use dry-point which requires the paper being dampened and any watercolour washes would be washed out

I chose the print media based on the finalised design. The main figure of the child I wanted to be lino cut and the rest of the figures would be dry-point and I also added the ballet shoes onto the matrix.

The dry point plate was inked in black and proofed on a coloured sheet with the music as chine colle

This showed the dry point as acceptable, the roulette marks in the shoes and in the dresses showed clearly and gave a pleasing variance to the marks. However since the music had not been coloured, it looked odd with the colour behind.  I therefore decided to add the music to the sheets and recolour them before printing.I printed the sheets with the dry point - adding chine colle on some sheets. I found that the very busy and dark sheet that had had acrylic transfer was too busy for the design and was unsuccessful, so need to bear this in mind for future prints.
 
I cut the lino cut from a tracing from the drawing in my sketchbook, using Japanese vinyl which allowed me to cut fine lines.  I also remembered not to cut too deep this time of using and am pleased with the result.  The proof indicated some marks that need to be cleared but they do seem to add a sense of movement so I will keep some on the matrix.

  I then added the lino print, again adding chine colle on some sheets.  I found that, on some sheets, the chine colle did not glue as well as others. I am not sure why this happened as the sheets were coloured with acrylic in the same way and I am confident that the glue was added to the chine colle evenly but they can be glued when the sheets are thoroughly dry if necessary. One one sheet no chine colle was added as I wanted to add the colour with pastel

The final task was to finish off with oil pastel, graphite and conte. The fist piece did not have chine colle over the child's dress so I used pink conte, colouring in the blue bodice and the shoes with red pastel and strengthening some lines with graphite where necessary.  I knocked back the three images at the base of the piece as I do not want them being so prominent.  The next piece was finished with white conte over the middle ground again to make this piece recede and to leave the figure of the child more prominent

Finally with a piece where the child's dress was in chine colle, I used a light ground of white conte over all but the shoes the blue ballet dancer and the child.  These are the most important images and need to be brought forward. 

 

Reflections

•  The design works and the working out in the sketchbook which led to the final design was worth the effort.
• the final piece is the best print  in terms of balance of tone and colour
• I feel that the movement of the original sketch is not fully carried over into the print which is a disappointment, but overall it is successful
• If repeating the print I would have  a less intense colour in the background so that the most important elements were more prominent and  thus removing the need for the white conte
• it is the first time I have used a memory as inspiration and Much to my surprise I enjoyed it. I will repeat the process.