SILKSCREEN MONOPRINTS

'Pictorial surfaces can never appear empty or lifeless to anyone who takes notice of their surroundings" 

Marlene Dumas - (in search of) The Perfect Lover.

25^th February 2016

 

The eclectic range of artists who are inspiring me; from Matisse and his linear figurative work and simplistic cutouts to Marlene Dumas’ bleeding watercolour canvasses, reflect my attempts to express myself through colour.

Experimenting with Silkscreen mono printing was one way of combining the vibrancy of colour with the curved linearity of the human form. It is using this process that I tried to emulate the immediacy of line and brightness or spontaneity of tone.

I began working directly onto mesh of silkscreen with acrylic paint.I wanted to experiment with the media and produce artwork which was less controlled than traditional silkscreen printing and more experimental in its execution.  

My life drawings and organic projections were, once more, the subject of this trial and I placed a selection of thickly drawing linear bodies under the mesh of my screen to trace with a brush as a key line.

One has to work like Speedy Gonzalez in order for the paint not to dry in so the work I ended up with was rather clumsy and not particularly satisfying.

Retarder can be added to reduce the drying time of acrylic, but makes for an uneven and blotchy surface print. The screen is masked off leaving the area one wishes to print within exposed. Acrylic paints are mixed first (using 50% transparent medium and 50% pure colour).

The end results whilst vibrant were disappointing. I disliked the ‘inaccuracy’ and lack of control, preferring to work into these test pieces and using them as backgrounds for future figurative work or perhaps they could take on the form of an abstract book.