I’d like to follow up the video chat and the written feedback in this post and plan to update it as I work my way through part 2 of the printmaking course.

The video tutorial was the first time I had the opportunity to talk to a tutor in person and I really appreciate it. It makes a difference to be in a dialogue as opposed to receiving a written summary for feedback on submitted works. During the chat I made some notes which I will incorporate into my response. My main interest in writing this article is keeping track of how I incorporated (or not) what we discussed into my work, but also to respond to aspects where I disagree with tutor comments.

Project 1: First monoprints

Mark making: Totally agree with the comment that there was not enough variety in mark-making. I remember that I felt very disoriented when I started the exercises, with no idea what kind of output might be expected. A better understanding developed over the subsequent weeks of coursework and from seeing artists’ monoprints. I recently discovered a helpful brief for mark-making exercises which I’m planning to use for the linocutting markmaking exercise. If I find the time, I might get back to monoprinting mark-making as well, just for the pleasure of it.

Painted monoprints from life: I struggled with watersoluble printmaking inks drying too quickly and as a consequence, switched to watersoluble oil paint and Akua Kolor which both have much longer open time and are thus more comfortable to work with. My tutor’s suggestion was to hinge the paper onto the inking plate and to make repeated impressions very shortly after adding paint onto the plate. I think this is a very good idea and I’ll get back to this for painted monoprinting.

Glass vs. perspex inking plates: I have 2 large and 2 small glass inking plates and have used additional perspex plates for inking when I worked with many colours simultaneously. I never run the glass plates through the press for safety reasons, I’m using them to roll out ink and get it evenly onto the brayer. Then I use a second plate for the actual printmaking process. So far this was a perspex plate but I’m curious to try other materials as well, like metal plates, where I’m sure they’d not break in a printing press. The glass plates are nice for inking the brayer because they don’t lift up like the perspex plates do, and they can be cleaned with a pallette knife without becoming scratched.

Project 3: Two colour masks

Backdrawing: My first attempts at backdrawing were indeed from over-inked plates and I had no control over the result. I think I learnt much about backdrawing and handling the amount of ink during work on the shoe series. I’m now much better at controlling the amount of ink that’s on the plate. My Tutor recommended using a Malstick, which is a stick placed to the side of the working space to provide some support for the painting hand. I might try this next time when I feel it becomes exhausting to maintain the hand off the paper.

Project 4:Texture and combination monoprints

Shoe series: The tutor comments couldn’t be more precise in pinpointing the weaknesses of this series: Uninteresting subject and no progression over the prints of this series. I had chosen the shoes as subject without much consideration, just because they stood there and I really liked the shapes of the arrangement. It was only much later when I presented some prints from the series to a colleague that I felt the shortcoming of no personal interest in this subject. I think I described this in the associated blog article. Similarly, it was only towards the very end that I realized that the only directly visible difference between all the prints was their different colours.

Nevertheless, I think this judgement does not do justice to the intense learning that took place while I was working on the series. It was really tough to keep up with the sheer mass of prints and I spent much time with each of them trying to develop interesting textures, balancing the colours and experimenting with overprinting layers. It was also a revelation for me to discover how the black backdrawing finally made the prints appear complete and finished. So despite the ‘uninteresting’ subject, I really like these prints and value them highly.

Leaf series: Tutor pointed to print P1080271 as his favourite from the series. This print is special in that it adds a painted layer made with a pallet knife and watersoluble oil print over the print made from leaf masks. Note to self: might be included for course assessment.

Skyline series: Glad about the comment on recognizable development from experimental uncertainty to focusing on one idea. Feel this is something I need to work on – the ability to start with something and develop it through stages. I suspect that in the past, I tended to start with one idea and stayed with it (like in the shoe series) or abandoned it altogether. Would like to learn exactly this, working through different approaches to an idea, change emphasis etc.

Pond series: Glad about positive comments on texture, and couldn’t agree more with the suggestion to work on larger scale for similarly “busy” topics. Interestingly, I realized the problem after having shown the print to another student and her comments about the interesting markmaking. It dawned on me that the entire print was too densely covered with marks. The “busy/quiet” concept exactly pinpoints this. I think many of my prints are “overbusy”, there’s not enough empty space in them. Not quite sure how I’m going to resolve this but consider it a huge step forward to have realized the problem, now confirmed through tutor comment. Solutions may come with time when I work out my subjects to include more breathing areas in the composition.

Colour: Tutor comments that my use of colour was “hit and miss” throughout assignment 1 and recommends study of selected artists (Matisse, Hodgkin, Heron). I’ll certainly follow up these artists, but think the colour decisions during part 1 reflect that I was experimenting with the many colours I had. The inks worked differently on different paper types – some papers absorbed the inks and dulled the colours, whereas others let them shine. The same ink would look like a different colour on different paper. So I think the “hit and miss” impression is the result of technical experimentation and part of the learning process. I’m quite confident that once the focus turns towards more worked out series, these experiences will help to produce more consistently coloured prints.

That said, I realize from work in other courses that I have a tendency to choose muted colours and quite a few of my drawing and paintings look quite “unhealthy”. I’m slightly irritated why this happens as I’m not colour blind and tend to appreciate nice colour arrangements. I suspect there are some unconsious forces at work. For the moment I would like to follow my instincts with colour choice, even if the results look strange, rather than trying to produce “pleasing” prints. It’s a bit like not wanting to use a thick layer of make up and run around with a false smile, even if that exposes a truely grim facial expression. MIght change in the future!

Sketchbooks

Hatching technique: Was glad to receive generally positive comments on sketchbook work. I think my drawing skills are  improving, compared to what I was able to do in the drawing course. Agree with the comment that I need to improve the hatching technique. This comment particularly referred to the drawing of the interior view (the chair with window in the background). Actually this was one of the first drawings where I managed to produce sufficient contrast with some really dark tones, and also include more details of the scene. I considered this drawing a clear step forward for me personally. It was weird to be aware of this and then receiving a comment focusing on weaknesses in hatching technique… certainly true but missing an important aspect.

Establishing links to reference artists: Not very happy with the suggestion of making the links to researched artists more explicitly visible. I do like researching other artists, but want to develop my own stuff and don’t want people to say “oh look she took this from Matisse, that from Picasso” etc. I guess the idea is to learn technically and let oneself be inspired, but not copy or try to imitate the style of another artist. I’ll keep it in mind for future research and see how I can develop my personal way of doing this.

Learning logs or blogs / Critical essay

Discussion of assessment criteria: My understanding of the criteria is better now, but overall they remain somewhat abstract and cloudy. Will follow the suggestion of not worrying too much about them and just try to do good work.

 

Personal note: After doing the required self-assessment for assignment 1, I searched the OCA website for more comprehensive information on the criteria, but there was no particular documentation on this. I brought up the matter in the OCA student forum and received helpful comments from other students and contributing tutors. There seems to be a general agreemant  that understanding for the criteria will develop gradually as students are working their way through the degree, by watching the OCA’s video presentations of student work, through forum discussions, tutor comments and receiving assessment feedback.

I still am uncomfortable with the idea of being judged according to criteria I don’t fully understand. It creates a feeling of not being able to influence the outcome because my efforts might be directed towards the wrong goals, and I will only realize it when I receive the assessment result and it’s too late for corrections. I’m perfectly able to ignore assessment criteria and am not overly concerned about particular grades as long as I pass, but I assumed the criteria have an educational purpose in guiding students to produce quality outcomes. So think the situation is less than optimal from a learner’s point of view.

Suggested reading / viewing

Highly appreciated suggestions, will add references to my research on the suggested artists

Useful colourists:
Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954)
Howard Hodgkin (b. 1932)
Patrick Heron (1920-1999)

Crosshatching:
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). Look at his etchings and drawings

Strong, simple composition:
Woodcuts of Der Blaue Reiter and Die Brücke groups

 

More pointers from tutor during the video chat:

“Rayographs” by Man Ray, with reference to the initial prints in the leaves series

Paul Klee and Jean-Michel Basquiat, I think regarding the idea of busy and quiet areas in a composition

 

Pointers for the next assignment

Lino cutting safety: Very helpful suggestion to use a bench hook. Followed this up and decided to buy a smaller one (12 x 16 inches or approx. 30 x 40 cm) and build myself a larger one from a 60 x 60 cm plywood panel and some wooden boards. Will see how this works out.

Explore and develop several options. Draw with thick line e.g. marker pen or brush. Select a simple, bold image: Yes will do. Will also try to do more interesting mark making and use the above-mentioned mark-making resource.

Use reference artists more directly. Learn from and demonstrate this in sketchbook: Explained my difficulties with this above, but will see what I can do.