Painting From Monoprint

Printing plate from monoprint session

This was one of my favourite images created during the last monoprint session.  I particularly liked the colour combination, textural qualities and the reflection of the light on the glossy plate at the bottom of the image.

I worked on A2 cartridge paper, beginning with a wash of loosely mixed acrylic applied with a brush.  In fact I thought this had a landscape feel in its own right!

I continued adding washes of loosely mixed colour with a brush, before moving to undiluted acrylic applied with a natural sponge.  I wanted to recreate the textural qualities in the original image, but found that brushing did not give the texture I wanted.  I had been researching the work of Frank Auerbach and his impasto application of paint, and I was keen to create thick, textural application of paint.  After experimenting I found that the texture of the sponge transferred to the paper when loaded with paint and dabbed onto the surface.  It also allowed me to barely mix the paint in order to achieve a depth of colour.

I continued to build up layers and found that this created a raised surface as the acrylic dried unevenly, and that this produced a particularly interesting textural quality which reflected the light in a similar way to the printing plate.

I then decided to use an acetate on the overhead projector to scale up my original image, choosing to crop the  image to place the focus on the two profiles together with only a portion of standing figure.  I chose this composition to convey a sense of presence through the profiles combined with the idea of what is unseen through the partial image and the ghost image combined with it.

I continued using natural sponges to apply the paint, keeping to a palette of tints and shades made using black, white and purple paint.  I built up layers, increasing the darkness of the left hand figure and the lightness of the right, again to make a suggestion of light and shadow / presence and absence.

 

I think the final composition is successful in its use of texture and colour.  I think the composition has generally worked, although the lefthand figure is perhaps out of proportion due to movement of the OHP when the image was being created.  I particularly like the colour scheme and the application of paint using the sponge.  I would like to try another painting using the same colour and method of application, but with a different composition, probably derived from one of the monoprints.