I discovered the special relationship that I had with many printmaking techniques while working for my fine art degree, and it transpired that it virtually dominated my final show by the end of my time there. I wasn’t so much interested in the calculated process of colour separation and masking with silkscreen work, but more the fluidity and spontaneity of mono-silk screen printing, a process which involves painting directly onto the silk screen, and pulling through a transparent, medium to create a unique, painterly image.
I loved the speed at which I needed to work to prevent the medium drying on the screen, as this directed me to produce many images in quick succession. This produced very flowing work, which emerged directly from inspiration, with no interruption of controlling the expression from my conscious and practiced artistic mind.
Looking back at this work years later, I noticed that some of the figures I had created had quite a tribal nature to them, and often involved nearby horses. Although unknown to me at the time of their creation, one of my guides, who explains his place as being my helper with regard to my artistic journey, shows himself as native american. It has since crossed my mind that the ididginous feel of this series of spontaneoius ink work may have been no coincidence.
I have come to look at these loose, intuited pieces as quite special, as I feel they may have revealled a doorway into the very specific channelled work which became a staple of my artistic practice.
I also love the process of monoprinting, as, once again, the spontaneity of line was very appealing to me. Because it was difficult to lean on the paper while working, it lends a little less control to the drawing. I enjoyed how it flowed from your arm, rather than from a hand practiced in specific placement or detail.
I have always loved the happy accidents of art, and I always hold them in high regard within the finish piece. This method of monoprinting gives way to textures and marks that hasn't consciously been added to the image, but that i still feel belong there, just as much as the definite line that has been purposely crafted. I also love the quality of the line, and how it gives the look of something ancient, or something that has been carved or ingrained in stone.
Etching was another great passion- I embraced the connection that I felt with ancient masters of this art and how many years this process has been used in creating beautiful images. For my own part, I preferred the blurred edge of a drypoint tool to that of a fine precise line created through scratching carefully through the etching ground, or the smooth application of an aquatint.
I also loved to hand colour my etchings with oil paint, so each piece was very different to each other, always using unique papers for effect, and just to experiment on what different surfaces added to the image.
There was very few occasions where my print carried any other number than 1/1.
Recently I have employed the use of a monoprint line, using oil paint, and then overworking the image with mixed media to create the final result. I love how this makes the line very strong, which, when you are depicting symbology as I do in my vibrational alignments, is beneficial in helping it hold as a potent element within the composition. It gives me the room to elaborate on the image, without losing the power of the original channelled shape or vibratory value of the original drawing.
It gives space for not just elaboration, or glorification, but also simply the decoration, of those first, powerful marks.
I like certain materials for their energetically beneficial properties.
Lamp black oil paint is made of charcoal, which is very powerful in cleansing and purification, and use this to create the monoprint line.
I like using graphite, as I learned that this conducts an electromagnetic charge, and as such, it encourages the energetic flow around the symbol.
I love how they nourish, and help in powerfully activating the alignments I use.
I feel I have a way to go yet with this specific technique, and in no way exhausted my exploration of the symbolic themes playing out in this method of expression. I’m always surprised and excited by the way my work progresses!
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