Monoprinting Development 2

First press, cartridge paper, landscape A4

I decided to experiment with a new mask / composition, using only head and shoulders of the figures.  I wanted to retain the build up of layers and idea of pentimento so I chose not to clean my previous printing plate, but to continue working over the top of it.  Because printing ink takes a couple of days to dry there were still traces of wet ink on the plate which meant that previous layers can still be seen.  I did not want to overcomplicate the imagery so I chose to stick to the same red and blue colour scheme.

Detail

Second press, magazine paper

Detail

New layer of colour, cartridge paper

I added to thick a layer of ink to this plate which rendered the image almost invisible and completely obscured the underlying layers.  However, when the mask was removed and a second pressing taken, previous colour and ghost imagery was revealed.  However, I think this composition is weak - the masks are too small and the profiles not strong enough to create visual interest.  I think these prints have been less successful.

Re-oriented to portrait, re-inked, cartridge paper