Still Life - preparing the plate and printing the final image

I decided on a trial run so used a small drawing as a guide and produced an A6 plate.  I was relatively pleased with the print although the major error I made of not reversing the image is very much the type of error made by a novice such as myself.



I found the repetitive mark making always meditative and quite soothing.  To keep the marks even is very difficult and will take me a great deal of time and practise to master it - if I ever manage to do so but the trial was successful enough to warrant trying it for the larger, final print for the assignment.

 

For the final image, I did remember to reverse the image and was surprised how different this was.

Although I have used the mirror technique of checking for errors in painting and drawings  before I had not noticed the difference in the "feel" of the reversed image - how changing the orientation of the flow of an image from right to left can alter ones perception of it so much. Something else to remember for future projects.

 

Size was dictated by the maximum size I can print on my press which is slightly larger than A4.  I use a plastic matrix for dry point and found that the concentration required for the close tonal marks required me to work in stages - I found that if I pressed on too long, the marks would vary too much. Although I would prefer to the marks to be as even as those produced by Morandi, I just do not have the expertise to produce the consistency and found myself instinctively following the curves of some of the elements. I was also surprised how hard it was to reverse the mark making to ensure the flow of the print. It is difficult to tell how the marks will print but from the plate I felt that the necessary tonal contrast had been achieved.

The assignment called for at least 5 prints, which could be the same or all different. I decided to use two different papers for the prints - a warm cream coloured Japanese Simili paper and a pure white Masa paper - this was to see how the image looked on different backgrounds   I have recently seem some etchings by Rembrandt where the same image - of Christ on the cross - was dramatically changed by where Rembrandt had chosen to wipe the ink, thus lightening the image, so I decided to experiment with varying the wiping on the prints to see how the image changed. 

For the first print on the cream paper, the plate was inked too lightly so the apples were indistinct and I also felt that the background needed some texture/tone. I was pleased with the image and felt it was quite successful. The marks could be a lot more even but this will come with practise.

 

 

 

With the second print, also on the cream paper, I left some tone on the background, behind the pots and above the jug. I also darkened the front pot, and wiped the apple in front of it to emphasise the tone and bring the apple forward.

With prints 3 and 4 - on white Masa paper-

 

I left more tone on the background but it is too uneven and the tone is too heavy at the top rather than behind the pots.  Too much ink has been removed  rather than selected to highlight the folds of the cloth  The apples are too pale.

 Prints 5 and 6 are on the cream Simili paper and I decided to emphasise the tone on the base of the front pot and the apples



 The shadow on the right side of print 5 is too faint and the shadow on the right side of print 6 is too dark but I felt that the print was getting stronger in tonal contrast

With prints 7 and 8, I decided to experiment with applying extra ink to certain areas for greater contrast using a cotton wool bud. 

 

This proved to a quite effective way to add back ink to small areas where the wiping had been too rigorous.  To an extent it is trail and error as the final effect cannot be evaluated until the plate has been printed but worth the experiment.

 

The final two prints are the most successful. Both on the white Masa paper and showing the individual items of the still life composition in detail with the tone of the background, shadow and cloth more balanced.


 
 

I feel Print 10 offers the best contrast in terms of tone and I found it the most interesting and effective. The dark patch of tone behind the highlight on the jug is interesting. The tone on the cloth is very random and is not as effective as it could be if I had been ore careful with this part of the image.

Reflections

• There is a limit to the number of prints that can effectively be printed from a plastic matrix and so is not really practical when experimenting with the intention of printing an edition - in future I will use a metal plate - that will give me the opportunity to decide on how I want the image to be without compromising the edition number.


• Since I was aiming for a tonal image, I felt that the pure white Masa paper was more effective than the cream Simili


• The mark making is not even, and this deflects from the final image.  I need more practise in producing them in a more even manner.


• I enjoyed experimenting with selective wiping and utilise this more in the future

 

 

 

 

Still life - a learning curve

The assignment called for setting up a still life, incorporating a fabric drape, with lighting that created sharp shadows - chiaroscuro. The choice of print matrix was left for me to decide.  While I was researching artists and print makers who produce work in this genre, I found myself obsessively drawing little still life's that I found around me. This was helpful because my ideas of what I wanted to incorporate were slowly being defined. These were all pen or pencil drawings because these are the tools that I always have lying around and mostly in my "doodle book" - the sketchbook that I keep by my chair in the living room, but spread out on anywhere and everything - my journal, receipts, magazines - anything.

 

 

The first still life I set up was full of complicated drapes and curves.

 I played around with different elements and locations and after some quick sketches I reluctantly had to admit that my skills are not good enough to do the set up justice - either printmaking or drawing. 

 

 

 

So I simplified the image   I found the black and white photographs useful when judging the still life and deciding what type of print matrix to use. 

 

Some colour sketches followed in oil pastel - here I was trying different  colours and designs, simplifying the shadows, a more abstract approach - with a nod to Ben Nicolson, sharp dark outlines inspired by Samuel Peploe and a straight forward tonal drawing.  I think they all hold potential for further development.

 

Much as I enjoyed working with the colour, I felt that I wasn't sure that I wanted to develop them into prints at this time. I came across Morandi during my research and was able to get to an exhibition of his work

http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=4079

 

I was inspired by his black and white etchings and decided that I wanted to try to produce a dry point using the same marks that can be seen in his prints. I developed large charcoal and pencil drawings large charcoal and pencil drawings in preparation for the plate, at this stage still looking at the design rather than trying to emulate Morandi's mark making

but with some small sketches looking at specific mark making to emulate him.  I want to try to achieve the quiet contemplative mood that his work engenders

I found that my memory of the still life set up was quite strong even after I had dismantled it and that this visual memory allowed me to continue to develop images. Although I had settled on the design and had started working on the plate, I found I was still interested in the set up and continued to develop it for future work.  This is a major step forward for me as, usually, I am quickly bored with an image and once a piece of work has been completed, rarely want to revisit it, but I have a fund of possibilities through this one piece of work that is quite exciting.

For instance, a doodle of apples and pears when listening to a speaker - doodling has always helped me concentrate - led on to a design based on abstract shadow patterns .

and a small sketch with simplified shadows






The next stage is to continue working on the plate and when it is finished print with more experimentation using  inking and wiping to vary the tones