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.

A print from memory

When I first considered this project, I came across a reference to the song "Blackbird, bye,bye". I wasn't sure what triggered it but the memory of the song was very strong.  I started to look at pictures of blackbirds and music but quickly realised that the idea had been triggered by looking at artists recently who are using birds as a symbol in their prints and I was trying to replicate them.  So I reconsidered  and the memory I decided to use was one of ballet dancing as a child. I have a clear feeling about the colours, light and feelings associated with the memory and also reading and loving Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield as a child. There was also a red ceramic wall ornament  in the bedroom I shared with my sister of ballet shoes and this had to be an element in the development.

After posting the previous assignment which was very rushed at the end due to ill health and prevarication, I had a period of reflection and came to the conclusion that I really had wanted to continue to work on the images - that I hadn't finished the development of the images or worked through all my ideas. I resolved in this new project to work on this aspect - to give myself the time and space to experiment with my ideas to their natural conclusion.

I had first mapped out words, colours, shapes, images  and emotions as suggested. I realised quite early that colour would be an important part of the final print so pulled colours and textures from magazines and collaged them randomly together in my sketchbook

 I was away for a week and worked in my sketchbook, allowing myself to play around with ideas without pressure, using collage, pen, acrylic, acrylic transfer and felt tip and enjoying the process.

I returned feeling these were a good beginning and with plenty of ideas to further develop. When the previous assignment was returned my new tutor said in her feedback " .. you do have a tendency to decide quite early what the final image is going to be and then completely stick with this with small variations of the same". This I feel, is the same as my insight. I give up and make do far too early.

 

The colour palette for the experiments remain the same. Pinks reds and golds featured quite heavily but as I have been developing the idea the colours are becoming more muted and fewer although still either from the yellow or red palette. The key elements from the memory for me where the ballet shoes pottery ornament, the pink tutu that I remember wearing and twirling around and around and these have continued to be important elements

I have experimented with different ideas as they occurred -using both collage and acrylic transfer techniques I have tried a textured background and also drawing the figure on a transparent layer. 
 I also added some words. I thought they would add to the image but they do not belong to my memory of the time so feel out of place.  The transparent layer knocks back the ballet shoes - allowing them to be seen but not be the most prominent part of the design.  I think this adds another dimension to the piece.  My memory also includes the music from the "Sugar Plum Fairy" perhaps every little girl dancers dream song, so I added a few notes of the well known theme.  I realise that I need to avoid these various elements looking just that - disparate elements in space.

 I used the Internet for inspiration of dancers and their movement. I felt originally that these could be a better image for the main figure but seeing them drawn on top of each other I wonder whether they could be used in the background as a repeated motif.  I also felt that the images coming through the paper from the other side was a possibility for experiment. I repeated then over an appropriated image of dancers. Although I feel these images both offer opportunity for development they did not reflect the memory and the story I wanted to convey but certain elements provided useful ideas.

I am sure this is because of the images I have been looking at recently, many of which have repetitive elements as a key part of the design.  I drew a small figure and repeated it on the page and also used the idea of the ballet shoes as a repetitive element but this time in collage.I felt that the gaze of the child was too dominant so tried an image of a child dancer with her back to the viewer - looking into her dream rather than having it behind her and her looking at the viewer. This balances the image better.

The texture of the acrylic transfer gives a worn distance to the background in keeping with a worn memory and I plan to retain this feeling in the final print. However I need to experiment with printing on this type of transfer as I am not sure how an acrylic transfer will stand up to the necessary dampening of the paper for a dry point for instance. I can also achieve the effect I want with either watercolour, acrylic or mono printing.

I had been using a fine line for the drawing, particularly of the figure, giving it a fragile element but after drawing some figures in black and white acrylic marker over a magazine image of dancers, I wondered what the figure would look like sketchily drawn with these markers. It would give more weight perhaps and make the figure a more dominant element.

Deciding to use these markers which make bigger and coarser marks also resulted in feeling that the figure had to larger. I am still working in an A5 sketchbook at this stage so smaller than the final image would be, but of necessity enlarged the figure - realising in doing so that the figure was now definitely the dominant image.  I also abstracted the figure to a degree adding a sense of movement in the skirt which is really important to prevent the viewer feeling that the child is passively watching - she is an eager participant waiting to join in, but feel the ballet shoes are too prominent. 

I reintroduced the idea of music into the image and also the idea of a repetitive element .  The texture behind provides interest.  the figure is not so strong, and the other elements feel as if they have just been placed without real thought to design or meaning.

The figure again feels strong - the yellow textured background helping with here.  I like the figures in the background but want them to be less prominent and perhaps smaller - the ballet shoes, such a key element originally, now looks like an afterthought but the music adds to the image.

I used a print of the music from "The Sugar Plum Fairy in the background - this makes the music a more substantial part of the image than just a string of musical symbols and adding it in the portrait layout works but in the landscape layout it just floats and is not connected.I also went back to adding colour to the image of the figure rather than just a black and white superimposed image. This gives a greater cohesion to the design.

The next images incorporated those elements that I felt were the most important, the music, the shoes, the watching waiting figure, texture and the dancer. The colours, yellow, red and to a lesser degree, blue, were also key. I also moved into a larger A3 format.



 In the final two images, I moved to A3 format and  introduced the idea of a ballet bar. This was the result of looking and analysing the images I had produced so far and finding them wanting. They still had the feel of related elements placed on a page in various ways but without a narrative feel to them. The bar I felt might provide a sense of location but when I placed it between the figure and the rest of the action, I also found that it distanced the  the child from the shoes and the dancer. I  introduced the second image of the child to give a feeling that there was more than one child, to reduce the sense of isolation but then,in the final image, the feeling of movement produced by the three fainter figures coalesces into the child was moving closer to want she wants or aspires to.  Also the child is more substantial still with the movement of the skirt suggesting than she is ready to join in.  This final image feels cohesive and tells the story I wanted to convey.

Assignment 4 - semi abstract self portrait

I looked at various artist as part of the research including Picasso and Matisse. I have always admired the Fauvres for their design and particularly their use of colour and felt that this would be a useful starting point.  I used one of the charcoal drawings for the earlier project as a starting point and drew a stylised head from it.  I made 6 or 7 colour sketches but they didn't inspire me to spend the time that it the project demanded. I will return to this design for further development as I think it holds potential.

 I found a photograph which I liked and decided to use that as a basis. After a charcoal sketch, I stylised and simplified the design and started making several colour sketches.  I tried a different background detail which I later decided to delete and also simplified the image with a thought to technical skills of cutting required.

  I decided on Japanese woodblock as I had already used monoprint, lino cut,  and dry point during this assignment.I upsized the image to fit the blocks and painted a gouche colour image with the final colour decisions to help me with the detail transfer on the plate.

I enjoyed the process of cutting the block although had difficulty with the very small elements of the face and also the thin line in the design. Most of the blocks were cut without a problem, but I did cut the face block twice and also the frame behind the head. The blocks stretched my skills to the limit but I am quite pleased with them.  One of my aims with the woodblock technique is to get more refined lines and I feel that this exercise has moved me on in terms of skills level, although I recognise that I have a long way to go.

This was a long process of cutting 7 blocks, printing profs to ensure that a) the blocks registered with each other and b) then cutting again to try to make the block as clean as possible of unwanted wood for a clean print.   Each block had then to be printed, the print kept damp for the subsequent blocks.

I refined the design with outlines around the green blocks and felt it was an improvement, however on attempting to cut the block for these lines, I found that my technique was not good enough to sustain the degree of accuracy required, so deleted them

The final print - as can be seen - it lacks the vibracy of colour of the gouche painted sketch which is a disappointment. There are also some errors in the registration and also marks carried forward from printing previous plates can be seen





I had experimented with some single colour sketches and decided at the last minute to try a purple and a brown version. Here is the purple version.  As can be seen some of the blocks hadn't been cleaned thoroughly since the previous colour and it spolis the print - however I do think it has potential and will print it again.

 Reflections

• I had some technical problems which I was unable to resolve around achieving a clean print. 

Although I have attended some workshops in the technique and produced successful work, and have produced successful prints from plates I have prepared and printed at home, I have not before tackled a design with so many colours and printing 10+ prints. The plates became very damp and I think the wood swelled causing that an apparently clean plate to lift and leave faint marks on the print

I am attending a short course on the techniques within the next few weeks so will have the opportunity to concentrate on the technical issues I have encountered.

• I feel that I was too ambitious with the number of colours, I am not yet competent enough to handle the issues involved in printing from this number of plates
• I think the design works - it isn't very abstract but I have found that trying to make a design more abstract to suit the brief doesn't work for me as I still find abstract designs difficult to understand
• I feel the single colour designs are interesting.  The colour has been contaminated by the base colour of the plate - I intend to carry out some experimentation/research to identify how I can remove all trace of a previous colour so that I can change the colour of a print more successfully
• I was very short of time having already having extended the submission date, so instead of waiting for the prints to dry before applying the next colour, I carried on printing.  I feel that some of the marks on the prints would have been avoided if I had taken more time to print
• I am disappointed with the prints that I am sending.  They are basically proofs along the road to the final print but I do not want to delay submitting again.. I know that I can achieve a much higher standard than this - however, I intend to carry on experimenting with the plates.

 I intend to:

•  use some of the prints as a basis for mixed media pieces
• print it with oil based inks and rollers
• print the blocks in black and use chine colle for the colour
• try out some more single colour prints
• use 2 or 3 of the prints/proofs to cut into strips and weave together as a collage
   

Assignment 4 - project 2 - self portrait

This called for  a self-portrait,  something I have always been uncomfortable with.  I did some research first looking at paintings, drawings and prints.  My first impression of the self portraits that I found were of very confrontational pieces - this is obvious,  of course, that when one is concentrating on looking in a mirror, ones gaze is likely to be quite intense. Those using photographs can be gentler and more forgiving.

 I started with some drawings looking into a mirror and just as I expected I looked quite fierce, realising that when I concentrate, as several people have commented in the past, I look very bad tempered. But a charcoal drawing was quite effective - I thought originally because of the soft media but perhaps I was starting to relax 










I then tried using a photograph for inspiration. This was a  kinder image because of the faint smile.

When undertaking the research I did come across some self portraits that incorporated images giving an impression of the personality of the artist,so I chose a photograph showing me relaxed and reading - oblivious of the world - a very natural state for me

Recent drawing courses and research into mark making has developed into an interest in a primary working in charcoal - adding and subtracting from my drawings and because this process can be duplicated to a degree, I decided on mono prints for this project.

 I have worked on mono prints quite a bit but haven't tried portraits in this medium so did some experimentation with  paper weights and the effects with hand burnishing and putting the print through the press. I also had to consider the matrix, finding that the plastic matrix I had were either too large or to small for what I wanted to do,  I ended up with using a thin sheet of acetate for the matrix.  This worked fine but had to be attached quite firmly to the workbench while I worked on it. I also completed a couple of mark making exercises  which I found useful as a warm up.   The weather was quite hot during the actual printing process and I found that the ink was much harder to work so also had to experiment with ink consistency.  I found that thinner papers worked much better for hand burnishing and also, to a less extent in the press.

The first prints were based on drawing 3 done from life. The drawing is quite soft, created with charcoal but adding and subtracting as the drawing developed so the monprint  was basically painted using a brush and hand burnished so are quite soft and . I especially like the brush marks in the hair.

I was finding the ink consistency a problem in very warm conditions - difficult to manipulate and becoming tacky very quickly.

The second set of prints is based on a drawing from a photograph.  

Since the drawing was less tonal, I  decided to use back drawing for the print   A slightly better likeness I feel and showing a different aspect of my personality.  I made a deliberate choice to eliminate some details such as around the glasses as I tried to bring some of the experimenting that I have been undertaking in drawings into the prints.  This is something that I have decided that I want to build on in the future.

Finally I chose another photograph as inspiration. This one showed me reading - a lifelong passion.  I decided to use back drawing again for the print but added more tone as a deliberate choice rather than mainly line as in portrait two.

As an exercise in self portraiture I didn't enjoy it, but I did enjoy it as a study exploring mono printing.

None of the prints are successful as likenesses but I think all are effective as prints in different ways and could be worked on in mixed media to develop them. Because of how uncomfortable I feel drawing myself from life, I think the prints from drawings taken from photographs are more successful, I feel they are more relaxed - the tension I felt in drawing the self portrait from life is shown in the print.

Reflections on the project

• I still don't like self portraits but am a bit more comfortable with them and feel I would benefit both drawing and printing self portraits as part of a series.  
• I think it would have been useful to have tried a print directly from life
• I experimented with ink consistency and spent some time exploring this.  The later prints benefit in quality I think due to the thinner more even coverage of the matrix.
• I decided to revisit this at a later stage when I had finished printing another project and had some ink left.  The weather was cooler and the ink was easier to manipulate .Although one of the prints  is crooked - something I didn't notice until it had been printed - I like the variety of mark making.  The other print was developed using a q-tip and I again find the mark making interesting 

Developments

I made 17 prints in all over this project and intend working on some of these in pastel/paint or ink - I want to see how far I can push the images.

Assignment 4 - project 1 Portrait of a friend

Assignment 4 is all about portraits. The first project called for a portrait of a friend or relative.  I have drawn and painted Michael a few times, he is happy to sit for me, so didn't anticipate a lot of problems with the sketching preparation.  However, when I finished a couple of sketches I realised that I wasn't happy with them because they didn't represent his character or interests. He also looked quite severe and very serious without his glasses.

I decided to map some ideas in my sketchbook - his hobbies, what he wears etc.  Photography, writing,wine, maps,walking and his hat were all on the list.  I started to look at photos of him as inspiration.  Usually he is behind the camera so the choice was very limited.  I had taken a picture of Michael kneeling to take a photograph. It is a dynamic pose which I think illustrates his energy, he is wearing his hat - even though indoors - to shade the camera and his eyes from the light - anyone who knows Michael will always think of him in his hat, he is taking a photograph - so typical - he is never without one of his four cameras - and his concentration on what he is doing is absolute - again typical. This says everything about Michael - and is very recognisable to anyone who knows him - I have decided to use this as the image to start the project.

The next photo my son took and shows him smiling broadly directly at the camera again wearing the beloved hat - a very obvious choice.  I wanted to include the idea of maps and walking in the design so played around with the photos, pieces of map etc in my sketchbook.  I finally decided on a dry point portrait, a two plate lino cut, chine colle of the map and some bootprints walking over the print. This might not be a conventional portrait but it does show his interests and character.

I found an old OS map that we didn't want anymore and used that as chine colle with the dry -point, the printed the lino cut and finally the bootprints which were cut from individual rubbers and stamped on.  I wanted an uneven effect like a boot print of a muddy boot.

I would have liked to have included a reference to his interest and great knowledge of wines and his work as an author but didn't feel that they could be fitted with the rest of the images I had chosen.

The first proof of the drypoint and map was ok but I was concerned that the map was too large.  I next printed the two-plate lino cut and added the boot prints by cutting two small stamps from rubbers. 

I found that I had to adjust the lino cut and also cleaned more of the plate. I used Japanese vinyl for the matrix. This is a product I haven't used before but which was recommended to me for ease of cutting and the fact that it is economical because both sides can be used. I found it very easy to cut, but, perhaps because I do tend to cut deeply, I found that using both sides was not totally successful as the second plate was mostly cut away and therefore when printing the plate was evenly supported across its whole surface and this impacted both the inking and the printing process which in this case was hand burnished.

Reflections

• some of the prints where printed on Japanese Simili paper and others on thicker Fabriano Rosbina.  The thinner Simili made better lino cuts but the Fabriano was better for dry point.  I need to experiment with more papers to find the optimum for both techniques for the future.
• the map paper was too thick for chine colle and was difficult to lay completely flat - it would have been easier and made a better balance on the final print if the map had been smaller.
• I didn't spend enough time proofing the two plate lino cuts - I had to make further adjustments into the printing which meant that some prints were already spoiled
• I had taken time to set up an accurate registration system but didn't take enough time making sure the plate was properly placed - hence only one or two properly registered prints.
• the embossed edge of the dry point and the edge of the map paper interfered with the lino cut - creating white spaces in the print. The print might have been improved in the dry point had been printed after the lino cut.
• I am disappointed with the simple technical errors I keep making - uneven inking, registration and too little time taken in proofing.  Most of these are caused, I feel, by time restraints.  The prints I make for myself or in workshops show none of these errors, but because of lack of confidence, I delay the actual printmaking for the assignments to the extent that I am always rushed and make silly mistakes.

I realise that I stop working on my prints at too early a stage. I settle on a design and when I am disappointed at the print, I don't review and critical access it and try to identify what I can do to improve it.

In the light of this insight, I decided to review the print even though this would delay submitting the assignment. I do think the print represents Michael - his interests and personality - but decided that the design of the elements could have been improved with a different placing, with a smaller piece of map.  I cut out the elements from a print and rearranged them. I feel this balances better and also, it would mean that the lino cut was printed on flat paper, making the ink lie flatter.  This new design does have plenty of blank paper so there is plenty of space to include representations of Michael's other interests but I don't have the time to explore them with this print.

These prints are more successful

• the registration is better - I took longer over setting it up
• the inking is better - although the Fabriano Rospina printed the lino cut much lighter than the Simili - I presume because on the Simili, the ink is sitting on the top of the paper rather than being absorbed
• I think the final print is better balanced as a design

future development

• add one of Michael's photographic images from a walk - by gum arabic or emulsion transfer.
• try different colours for the lino cut - picking out of the colours from the map

Etching with copper sulphate

I recently attended a two day etching workshop at the Wrexham Regional Print Centre - www.regionalprintcentre.co.uk, tutored by Tracy Hill - www.tracyhill.co.uk.

I have limited experience of acid etching, and was interested in experiencing a less toxic method. The process is the same as the traditional acid method but obviously different chemicals are used.  We used both zinc and aluminium plates as matrices and printed with oil inks onto Hannemuhle and Somerset paper.

Tracey demonstrated every stage which was useful for everyone whatever their previous experience, and she was very relaxed and generous when asked to go over the details again for anyone who needed it.

Firstly the edges of the plates had to be bevelled, to prevent the blankets on the press being damaged but this also means that the final print will be cleaner, and then degreased as grease, including that from fingers, would effect the ground that was to be laid over the plate.

The acrylic ground a mixture of two substances - rather than a traditional wax ground - was then rolled on to the chosen plate. Textures were created by laying various found objects, lace, feathers, net, dried plant material,string, stencils, onto the plate which was put through the press. The plate was then heated on a hot plate to fix the ground and finally placed into the copper sulphate solution.  The solution etches into the areas of metal which have been left exposed by the textures pressed into it. The plate is then cleaned of the remaining ground and detritus from the mordant and printed.  This is my first attempt - two feathers and a piece of unravelling cord on a zinc plate.

Before printing I used a dry point needle to emphasise some of the details of the cord that and also add details of a third feather in the upper left corner to link in with a pale mark that looked like a quill. Ideas for future development includes printing with chine colle to emphasise the feather structures, burnishing the highlights and more dry point work.

I next tried a smaller zinc plate - the same process with the ground but after allowing it to partially dry for a few minutes I added water with a brush. The result is reticulation where the ground - which is water based - partially dissolves with the added water and produces interesting, not entirely predictable results.   Again before printing I added dry point - too faintly as can be seen in the prints but these can be worked on further.

I burnished the un-etched metal of the plate to make the highlights more prominent added a traditional wax hard ground and emphasised some of the dry point marks made earlier and then inked in green as an experiment.  I don't think the colour works and prefer the blue black - the abstract design reminds me of the flint walls of West Dean and in the future I will continue to work on this plate to emphasise this element and perhaps try to replicate the lovely colours one sees in flint particularly when wet.

The next day I worked with aluminium plates.  These are slightly less predictable in the mordant and I decided to try with some semi abstract landscapes. I have had a week drawing mountains recently and these were in the forefront of my mind as inspiration.  The first plate was covered with the ground and then water added for the reticulation.  The abstract shapes reminded me of clouds so the mountain range was added below with a dry point needle and some more water added to provide texture on the land.  The second plate was a thin strip.  I drew onto the ground using a dry point needle for an impression  of landscape and also added a little water reticulation for tone and texture.  On reflection, this was too much for such a small plate - less is more in this instance.  After heating the plates to set the ground, they were put into a saline copper sulphate solution.   The back of the plates had to be covered with plastic tape to prevent the back being attacked by the etch and in that process I must have scratched the larger plate with a small piece of grit. This didn't become apparent until after the print was pulled but as can be seen left quite a prominent series of marks all across the plate.

I inked the plate again trying to remove some ink from the most prominent mark but this seemed to make it more obvious, so decide to add to the scoring with dry point - in an attempt to make a virtue from an error  - and extend some of the marks including the very harsh ones to create a feeling of wind sweeping over the landscape.  This was an improvement and when I inked the landscape in green making it more prominent it made the image more balanced still.  The motto is - make sure the area is perfectly clean before turning the plate over before taping the back!

Finally I decided to try the small landscape with some chine colle - a white tissue with tracings of green ink on it.  The plate is too small for the large piece of tissue so I will print the plate again with smaller additions perhaps in unrealistic colours to emphasise the abstract nature of the marks and to de-emphasise the complicated, detailed landscape I tried to represent.

All in all a very busy two days - lots of experiments and 4 plates that I can continue to work on and develop at home and perhaps take  back to Wrexham for some more etching. I have lots of ideas and intend to play around and see how far I can push them.