Printmaking finished projects

Finally got to cut this lino until the end, took a while, had a lot of detail, but it was worth it:

I altered a free copyright image on the Prisma application and based my drawing from there, I am quite pleased with the effect.

Got to use my Dura Lar monoprint plates, it happens that they work really well not only for monoprinting but also for dry point and a lot more types of techniques.

So I have had some fun testing them in several dry points, here one of the first ones:

This was a series of five small prints, and I have made another one based on a photo from the Paint my photo website:

This is just one of the four prints, but I haven't gone around to paint the other three, but I hope I will be posting them soon.

Portraits and some updates

I have been continuing my new linocut project, but this one is taking some time to carve out, here is the progress on it:

Still have some corners to deal with, but most of it is done. In the meantime, I wanted to get back to practice some drawing and decided get back to doing some portraits.

This is a portrait of the author Ray Bradbury and it was done with Derwent drawing pencils and a few Derwent Coloursoft. I decided to leave color out in order to simplify the portrait and concentrate in getting the features and values right.

Finally, since this one went quite well, I have started a new portrait (also done with Derwent Drawing pencils) of Juliana, a character in the TV series "Man in the High Castle":

I will be posting the progress on this one and hopefully it will go as well as the last.

New Projects and a Mini Haul

I have been back to sketching with my soft pastels (and oil pastels). They are one of my favorite medium to work with. I like the way they force you to be more loose and expressionist, since it's difficult to achieve a lot of fine detail with them. Here is a drawing I have done of a blue throat:

It took me roughly one hour and half and I finished it in two separated days.

I also got around to finish my vibrant poppies dry point. It was painted over with Jackson's artist watercolors, they are excellent paints for the price.

I have also started another linocut project, trying to make at least one set of prints each month and since the last ones were mostly dry points, I though it was time to get back to some lino cutting.

Finally I got some boxes to organize my supplies and with them, these two lovely items:

I am really curious to try the monoprint plates, they are quite versatile allowing for a lot of printmaking techniques, as I discovered reading the back of the package:

Winter Landscapes Series and Monoprints

Took some time but I am finally done with the first set of prints for my winter landscapes series. I painted the drypoints with a mix of watercolor, inktense, pastel and color pencils.

More prints, I am planning to do at least three prints for each image, five if I have the time to paint them all afterwards.

 

I also bought a Gelli plate (the A4 size) and I have been having some fun making monoprints. This one was then combined with a linocut of a white fox. I retouched it a bit with some white gouache. 

For this one, I am planning to combining it with a drypoint and see how the effect adds on:

Winter Landscapes - Etching Series

Taking my time coloring my new etchings. I decided to start this series about winter landscapes and I am planning to make most of my work with printmaking techniques, combined with other media.

The images above and below were painted with watercolors, inktense pencils or graphitint pencils:

I will add some media on top, probably color pencils and pastels to give the prints a bit more dept.

In the mean time, I have also completed two more landscape studies, the first one was completed with inktense pencils and pastel pencils, and the second with watercolor pencils. Both were done on the "Paint On" toned paper from Clairefontaine.

New Etchings and Illustrations

Back to printmaking with a few more small projects.These new etchings were done with Dura-Lar film sheets, using Charbonnel Aqua Wash Etching Ink, in black.

Putting a small mat board beneath the Dura-Lar helps the printing process, since the sheet tends to slide a bit out of place. I used that on this other etching:

Finally I have done some small illustrations, mostly with watercolor and inktense pencils:

Most of the illustrations are based on photographs from "Paint my Photo" website or just drawn from imagination. 

What I have been up to...

Lately I haven't had much time to draw/paint, I started a new job and it has been difficult to synchronize the "drawing time" with my new routine. So I have been basically finishing older projects and making experiments with materials.

I have made a different version from my last etching, based on a photograph of me and my husband. I have done it with watercolors and pen, and I am quite happy with the result.

And I have also made some experiments with Indian ink and watercolors, mostly using wet and wet techniques and salt to achieve the effects I wanted. 

And off course some splashing because that's always fun.

Etching and Pastel over monotype

So I am continuing with my projects on etching and monotypes. This time painting over two etchings I have done some time ago, based on a photograph of me and my husband at the beach.

I used watercolors and colored pencils in the one from the left and watercolors and pastel pencils on the right one, which is still in the process of being completed.

Added watercolors to a previous monotype:

And some pastel over it to sharpen contrast and define things a bit more:

Swan Monotype and New Etching Project

Some days ago I have done a monotype of a swan, and I decided to complement it with other media (in this case pastel pencils). Below is a picture from before and after I colored the monotype.

I really like the effect and I think I'm starting to get the hang on monotypes, so definitely will be keeping doing these in the future. I think monotypes are perfect for mixed media use, they offer a base drawing with an indication of the values that can be improved with other media, from watercolors to pastels. 

Much like etching for example, so after being done with my last four etchings of flowers, I decided it was time to progress to something a little bit more difficult. I took an old photograph from me and my husband at the beach and made an drypoint etching from it:

I will be adding watercolors or color pencils to these etchings also, and experimenting with combining different media and techniques. Here is a better look at the etching work: 

This was done in a Dura-Lar film sheet and I used Charbonnel Aqua Wash etching ink in black. I have painted the dura-lar sheet with a stiff old brush and then wiped the excess of ink with chess cloth (also called "tarlatan" I think). 

The sheet was worked with a simple etching tool from Arteina, it's not expensive and does the job decently. But you can also use a needle, x-acto knife or basically something sharp to make the indentations in the dura-lar sheet. 

Swan Monotype

Set up for a new monotype small project, this time of a swan:

Here is the final print:

I intend to added other media to the print, perhaps pastel or color pencils, using Belinda Del Pesco videos has a reference, they are great to learn about all the possibilities of monotypes.

Finally, I have ended another old project of a relief print painted with watercolors, of my uncle's dog:

New Prints

Final prints on my etching project, a set of a total of 4 prints painted with color pencils, watercolors, inktense pencils and graphitint pencils (from Derwent):

An etching offers the possibility of testing several methods of painting, which is great for studies for a bigger piece for example. 

I have also been busy finalizing older projects, I have added watercolors to the book mark I had done in linocut:

I have also added watercolors to some older prints:

Owl Reduction Linocut - Part III

I'm finally done with my last layer of my owl reduction linocut. I'm quite happy with the results, although only a few prints came out decent.

Still need to improve my registration system, since a few millimeters of difference is enough to ruin a print...

I think I will continue to work on this "birds" prints for a while until I get the hang of it, they will make a nice addition to my portfolio.

Owl Reduction Linocut - Part II

I'm finally done with the second layer for my owl reduction linocut. I have manage to obtain six decent prints out of the ten I had printed previously:

Anyway, now I'm only missing the final black layer which will hopefully look great on top of the yellow and orange.

I have also been practicing drypoint techniques. First I'm starting by doing it on drafting film from Duralar using an etching tool, then I intend to try it out on plexiglass for example.

I have chosen a simple small drawing and then I will just color it with several different media to see what works best. The one on the left is colored with colored pencils and the one on the right is colored with watercolors.

Owl Reduction Linocut

After a first experiment with Schmincke linocut inks, I decided they were really not working and order two more colors for my Caligo Inks set . And here are my prints:

I have done a set of 10, since my first experience of linocut reduction did not went so well...But I have learned my lesson, now I actually have a registration method (which I did not have the first time)!

I have based myself on a video from Belinda del Pesco, which is great to understand the reduction printing process, you can check it here.

Anyway, this will be a reduction block print of three colors, here is a close up of the first layer:

Bird Sketches

Bird sketches done with Derwent inktense pencils and sakura pens:

Apple - Value Study

A value study in water-soluble graphite, done with ArtGraf from Viarco and Faber-Castell pencils for the details in the apple.

I have done this in order to understand better the values before making a monoprint of the image.

It's a great medium for this kind of studies, even after the graphite as been wet and dry, you can still erase it, so many mistakes can be covered. You can also lift the graphite with a dry brush before it dries or with a tissue, just like watercolor.

Artist Belinda del Pesco has a great video on how to use this medium, you can check it here.

Monoprint and new reduction linocut project

My first attempt at monoprinting:

Since this was my first time a wanted to go with a simple design to see how it turned out. I would say it is Ok for a first go, but definitely needs some improvement:

I will be adding some dry media to the print to see if I can improve it a bit.

I have also pulled out the first test prints on my new project:

This will be another reduction lino cut, done with three colors similar to the heron I did a while ago. This time I have improved my registration system so hopefully I will get more decent prints then the last time.