Why Printmaking?

Printmaking is a passion...it is a labour of love. 

In these days of rapid and easy reproduction, one might wonder why anyone would bother with printmaking anymore.  I can't speak for other artists, but for myself, I LOVE the various processes I use.  I also love the idea of being able to give someone a real work of art crafted by the hand of the artist for a reasonable price, and not a reproduction of a work of art.  Reproductions have their place, and I have no argument with them.  With the reproduction process, the artist is often not directly involved in making the reproduction.

There is no other way to get the look of a hand pulled print.  There is a brilliance to the colours, the adventure of the line, and the surprise when the print is first pulled through the press...and for the printmaker, there is a thrill that can not be duplicated in reproduction.  It means that more than one image can often be pulled, depending on the process, and can be made available at an affordable price to the public, and yet each one is an original work of art.  With hand-pulled prints, each print is individually inked and pulled by the artist. 

I limit the number of prints I do of each image to 20 or 30 prints, keeping the run small.  I do not do second editions.  This preserves the integrity of the value of prints which are purchased as original editions by ensuring that there are not more prints available than what is in the original run.

The following are the methods I use in my studio to create prints.  There is always something new to learn and try, so the experimentation aspect of printmaking is, to me, fascinating and very absorbing.  I hope you will enjoy the results.

Monoprint

Monoprints are created by working directly onto a plate with rollers, brushes, adding colours, taking away, creating lines, printing one monoprint over another, and is very spontaneous.  Like painting, it demands a dialogue between the artist and the image, and the artist must be attuned to what the image is asking for as well as imposing their own ideas onto the image.  Monoprints are a "one of" print, although a series of monoprints can be created by working with the same elements, each slightly varied with each pull.  They are denoted by a 1/1 number in the lower left corner.

Etchings

Etchings are created on a plate by covering the plate with a resist, drawing through the resist with a sharp needle to create lines, and then exposing the plate to an acid or salt bath.  The bath eats into the metal creating a "groove" which will hold ink during the inking and printing process.  The resist is then cleaned off the plate, and ink is pushed into the lines.  Tarlatan or paper is used to wipe the plate of excess ink, and the wiped plate and damp paper are then run through a hand operated printing press by the artist.

I use copper plates mostly, with a Ferric Chloride salt Bath.  I sometimes use aluminum with copper sulphate bath, but mostly copper.  The plates are inked either in one colour, or using a method called alle poupie, which means more than one colour is put on the plate and wiped for a single pull rather than multiple plates for each colour.  I sometimes use chine colle in the printing process as well, which is basically collaging different papers to the print while pulling it through the press.

Stencil Prints

Stencil Prints are what they sound like...stencils are cut and inked, and layed onto the printing plate to be pulled through the press.  It is a simple and fun way to work images.

Block Prints

Block prints are prints which are taken from a block of wood, linoleum or other solid surface which have been "carved" with knives to create an image.  They are fun, and are inked by rolling the ink onto the block with brayers, and then printing.  A press can be used, or the back of a spoon, or a barren, depending on the desired effect.

One variation is the reduction print where some of the image is cut away and the first colour is pulled, then more is cut away and a second colour is pulled, and so it continues until the plate is pretty much gone...and the last colour is pulled.

Drypoint

Drypoint is accomplished by drawing directly onto the metal plate with a diamond tipped needle.  This not only cuts a groove, but also pushes up a "burr" which also catches the ink and creates a softer, blurred line.  The burr, unfortunately, wears off quickly after being compressed by the press, and the image will revert to an appearance much like an etching.  Therefore, drypoint does not give as many prints, unless the artist takes the plate to a metal shop and has the plate (and burr) coated in steel for strength. 

Plastic plates can also be inscribed, or paper plates coated with gesso (for collograph), but these do not push up a burr, and will not give the same effect of the soft line that a true drypoint print will.

Collograph

Collograph plates are made by a process of selecting thin materials and using a glue to affix them directly onto the plate.   The items must be thin to avoid unattractive buildup of ink.  Relief can also be created by putting a thin coat of plaster on the plate and drawing into it, or a combination of drawing, inscribing and gluing pieces directly onto the plate.  For base plates I use metal or wood, plastic or matboard.  Sometimes the wood itself or whichever plate type is used lends itself to texture on the finished print.  Found pieces of metal often can create fascinating textures for either a base plate or an added element.  The plate is then sealed and printed. 

Any of these methods can be combined, depending on the intent of the artist, and what the image is trying to convey.  It is tempting and challenging to keep going on a print until it is no longer clear what it is...and then bring it back to a point of clarity.  There is the learning and the mastering of the techniques, which always seems to present a new opportunity to try something, and then there is trying to use those techniques for an approach to image making which is sympathetic to the image being created.  When it all comes together, it is magic...