Once you have completed your prints and developed the theme in a variety of ways, write a
supporting statement (about two A4 pages) describing your final work. Include comments on
how the prints appear and any technical difficulties you encountered. Describe the reasons for
your choice of method and technique and a few paragraphs about your choice of theme. Also as part of this report review what you have learned and experienced during your course.

Choice of theme

My choice of theme was guided by a decision to work from nature (not from a photo) and my love for flowers. Practical aspects like availability of the model for close study were also relevant. I finally chose a pot of tulips for the simplicity and elegance of the flowers’ shapes, and remained fascinated by the visual pattern of leaves and petal shapes in my composition throughout the project.

Technical approach

I started with some sketches and detail studies in the sketchbook to get a feeling for what interested me most about my tulips, and then undertook some research to see how others had approached the depiction of tulips (see Blog post: Inspirations: Tulips in print http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=1842) .

I particularly liked the painterly approaches in Julia Aires’ monoprints and the etchings by Josefina Hernandez and Louise Stebbing, whereas I found graphical approaches, eg. linocuts, less appealing. Consequently, I opted for a painterly approach in my project, in particular using monoprint for colours. I was also interested in collagraph, but knew I’d have to experiment and improve my technique quite a bit, as my prints in part 4 were not so successful.

My tutor had warned me not to choose a method I wasn’t comfortable with, so I was prepared to be open minded and try something else if it did not work out. But I wanted to develop my abilites with collagraph and so decided to give it a try.

The first step was to make a set of collagraph and experimental printing plates. Starting from a master drawing on the first plate, I created three collagraphs: The first was made from cloth with PVA glue applied in a different number of layers, aimed at creating tonal values from differences in ink retention of open vs. closed areas. The second and third were heavily textured plates made with sand, burlap and joint compound. All three plates were meant to be inked intaglio style, i.e. wiping away excess ink from the surface and printing with the ink that was left on the plate.

I also made a plate from corrugated cardboard for texturing monoprint backgrounds, and a hot glue relief on cardboard as an alternative to backdrawing the tulip contours.

Then followed an explorative stage to get to know my plates and my subject as it printed. I worked mostly monochrome, making painted and textured monoprints, collagraphs and styrofoam relief plates from the collagraphs. Next I experimented with multicolour and combination prints. I explored painted monoprints with wiped backgrounds in the style of Julia Ayres and tried overprinting monoprints with collagraph plates. I also experimented with denatured alcohol, sisal grass, strings and the corrugated cardboard plate for textures.

I used different kinds of paper (drawing paper, Thai Kozo, Canson, Strathmore, Lenox, Vellum printmaking paper) and compared the results of hand burnishing vs printing with the press.

The final series

After the experimental stage, I reviewed everything done so far in an attempt to identify the most interesting approaches and techniques for the final series of prints. I liked the monotype overprinted with collagraph best because it gave both strong colour and interesting texture to the image. For the process, I decided on Canson Edition paper, printed damp with the press.

Initially I wanted to combine prints from two of the collagraph plates, each one printed in a warm and a cool colour combination. But over the course of the printmaking, my preference switched to prints from the cloth/PVA plate, which I used to make a series of prints in 4 different warm vs cool colours.

Overall, I’m quite satisfied with the result and think that the prints are technically well executed and visually pleasing. I like the unusual colour choices I made and am happy that I was able to make successful prints from a complex collagraph plate. During the experimentation phase I had learned quite a lot about the techniques involved, so that in the final series, most of the technical glitches, like dampness of the paper, sequence of steps, registration and monopainting issues, were resolved.

Reflecting on the project as a whole

The project was a big one for me and I got quite involved, juggling with so many different approaches to my subject. At times I felt overwhelmed but in the end I managed to focus on what I liked best and produced prints of good quality.

With hindsight, I think I might have stayed more open regarding the subject. Very early, I locked in my choice of subject and viewpoint, and then explored the composition in various technical approaches. As a follow up, it might be interesting to develop a range of different views of the tulips and then make a series of prints in my chosen technique, with varying colours and maybe even varying paper sizes. The problem is again the time limit for completion of the level 1 degree modules, which requires me to finalize this module now, but I might get back to the idea at a future point in time. The relevance of this learning point should not be restricted to printmaking, because a more varied approach to a chosen subject would be a good strategy for me to adopt in other artmaking techniques as well.

I also felt a degree of professionalization in my practice developing over this final project. For example, in the final stage I had my paper prepared in advance – a number of sheets torn to size, placed at hand. I had my equipment all set out. I had a simple improvised registration technique that worked sufficiently reliable. I knew how to handly the Akua inks and special effects from combining intaglio inks with liquid pigment. Towards the end of the project, I felt very much in control of the process. Nevertheless, I tried to stay open minded and critical towards what I produced. This resulted in the decision to select all prints from the same collagraph plate, in different colour versions, rather than combining prints from two different plates.

Review of the course

I did this course as a voluntary add-on module to the painting degree and feel that I’ve learned a tremendous lot. This concerns not only printmaking techniques, but also how to structure the creative process and develop an idea into a printable motif. At some point, I felt restricted by the limitations of my materials. For example, I found that my favourite inks, Akua water-soluble intaglio inks and liquid pigment, did not work very well for painted monotypes. I developed a technique to create marks with a rough brush, but it wasn’t truly what I had in mind because it did not feel like painting freely with colours. Only now at the end I found out that a particular blender medium exists to address exactly this problem. I should have researched that earlier!

For the course as a whole, I’m pleased to see that I produced a large amount of interesting prints in a variety of techniques. It’s a nice feeling of accomplishment when I look at the gallery of prints, not only those selected for the assignment but also all the experimentation and sideways I took. I see the course as a guided introduction, both technically and into the creative process, and feel it’s going to be like a seed that will take more time and effort to bring out the full potential of what it initiated.

I see my shortcomings and that I was only partially able to respond to tutor feedback. One problem is that tutor feedback arrives at a time when I’ve already worked into the next project, my mind full of new stuff and ideas, and then have difficulties to set aside time to go back and review the previous project in light of tutor feedback. Other things in the feedback I understood and tried to take on board, but had practical difficulties with, for example with regards to drawing connections between what I do and what I see in artists works. Another big problem is my very limited time available, because I’m doing OCA courses on top of a full time job. All my time must be managed and organized productively, and that time pressure isn’t good for playful exploration which would provide the setting for creativity. Since I can’t change the situation for now, I will have to learn to be creative “at the push of a button” which might in itself be a valuable ability.

So there are still many aspects to develop further. For example, I think that I did not do enough sketchbook work, both regular drawing practice and using the sketchbook to work out ideas. My tutor also made me aware that I need to integrate the reception of artworks into my practice, but I struggle to do this because I’m very focused when I’m working. Currently I am alternating between studying artist works and developing my own stuff, with only the beginnings of mutual influence.

In the future, I hope that I can build on what I’ve learned in the course and continue printmaking. I’ll be taking the painting module next and maybe there’ll be room to integrate the two approaches. For now I feel somewhat exhausted because the workload of the course was intense, but after a little rest I guess I won’t be able to resist to get back to the printing press later on.