PRINTMAKING, part III (final)
We didn't used to think for a minute about danger in the art studio - well, I was afraid of dropping my cigarette ashes into the turp, or leaving a cigarette going somewhere. So I often smoked a little pipe, complete with rhinestones and carving. I haven't smoked in some thirty years, though. Now, it seems everyone is afraid of chemicals, so we use disposable gloves, solvents that do not contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and take care to dispose properly of used rags. As a traditionally-trained artist (UCLA), I am always concerned about the longevity of my work, but I do see that Rembrandt's monotypes are still around after a few hundred years, so putting oil-based inks onto paper must be OK, at least for a long time. Hundreds of years from now... who knows? Visual arts might all be just electrons, recycled! No paper left, except for a few museum pieces.
A monoprint is like a monotype in all ways except one, and that is that it has a repeatable image. This means that there is a kind of incised image which stays in all the prints, because it is incised into the plate. The incising can be by acids (in the case of copper, zinc, and other metal plates), by instrument, such as the stylus that I use to cut into metal (drypoint) or acrylic plates; or the latest - photographic chemicals, the printing plate exposed to light. The image is etched onto the plate, and remains. All these plates have an image matrix. What goes on around that matrix changes, however, in typical monotype style. One can use watercolors, dyes, oil-based paints, water-based paint (Createx) especially for monotype printing, or attempt combinations to see what other results might come about.
As an artist trained mostly in painting and drawing, I find the spontaneity and experimental nature of monotypes to be lots of fun. The tools are kind of funny - at least those I use a lot. I roll those litho inks on there, and then draw into them with q-tips, a plastic spoon, a turkey quill. As you can deduct, these tools remove some of the ink, so that part is bare. When it is printed, it shows the paper itself. And I adore paper, so am always happy NOT to cover it all. I use the very best handmade papers, and they have to reach a
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