Mono Printing

A mono print is a form of a contact print like a pencil drawing which is contact between the pencil and paper. It is the contact between paper and ink.

To create a mono print you first place a "poo" of ink on a flat surface; I used a water based ink which will wash out if it was to spill onto clothing then it would easily be cleaned. Using a roller spread the ink across the surface to make a thin layer. Place a piece of paper on top of the ink an then the image on top of the paper and using a pencil draw over the edges which will press against the ink creating the image on the paper.

This is the first attempt at mono printing, it is somewhat successful with basic outlines and indication of areas that would be coloured if coloured if different coloured ink was available.

Here I have used the image that I used on the previous mono print and I used the left over ink to create a background, glasses and other dark areas. This was really difficult, I struggled a lot to get the ink accurately and precisely in the right areas so I would not recommend this method.

I have tried to do it again with more ink which has compromised the quality/clean edge of the actual drawing so I don't think that I will do it again.

In order to take advantage of the amount of ink that was on the surface I simply put another piece of paper over the area and used the roller which picked up the areas with more ink.

Again I have used too much ink and the lines have come out way too thick even though I was using a freshly sharpened pencil so that this would not happen.

This is the ghost print of the previous image showing that the lines are thinner and looks a lot better than the other one.
I am going to keep attempting to make a good print.

 I still feel that this image is to patchy and too much ink is being used. Maybe I lent on the paper during the print.

In this print I have used the pencil very lightly in the lower areas to create shadow on the models body, I did the same for his hair. On the left the lines are very thin and precise which is what I would like to achieve, however in other areas like the models collar the lines are very thick. This shows variation in pressures as I am drawing so I will have to work on that.

This is exactly what I have been trying to achieve. Thin lines with shadow and fairly accurate to the original image. I would also like to try using colour. Maybe I could use several copies of the original image as stencils in order to separate areas and still be able to see the details of the image.

Using the stencils, rollers and inks I was able to place colour on this image whilst still being able to see the details of the image. I dislike how rough the edges are on the face; which I think was caused by the smooth rollers and small amount of space to work with. I think that I would have had to use a lot of ink in order to fill the face fully however that would obscure the facial features.

Seeing this I think that I might be attempting this in the wrong way. I love the colours and how rough it looks however I feel that it is not good enough. I might have to learn how to screen print instead which is more like Andy Warhol's style creating the Marilyn Monroe images.

Andy Warhol

To create this image Warhol and assistants used a silkscreen technique which is a method using screens, light sensitive emulsion and stencils to create multiple versions of the same artwork. This is often used in clothing mass production. Each of the faces also look different every time. Whether it's the colour of the paints or positioning of the models facial features like the eyebrows. In some of the images there is blur or movement. This may be a result of attempting to complete the job very quickly and slipping with the emulsion or stencil. However this seems to add character to this collection of images and makes each of them unique even though they are all meant to be the same. Each of them being slightly different makes me think that they are individual images, all taken in quick succession similar to a film strip. A lot of the detail in the images have been taken away because of the technique used to make it. However there is enough detail to recognise the famous figure who is modelling. The colours that have been used are very bright and grabs the attention of the viewer. They seem to exaggerated the actual colours of the models face and hair, since as we know Marilyn Monroe is Caucasian and blond.

Once again Warhol has used an image repetitively of an item that is seen in supermarkets across the USA. Everyone would have seen this tin and Warhol has made it into a piece of art by making it the main subject. However there are lots of copies of these being displayed in the gallery giving it the effect that you are actually looking at a shelf in the market. A large amount of the image is either black or white and the colour red is what makes this image stand out. The tin is central inside the frame and covers the frame from top to bottom. I really like this image because of its uniformity and simplicity of the colours and shapes that have been used. All of them are actually quite different because they are all different flavour soups; one even has a gold ribbon across the middle.

Initial ideals

When I first heard that I would have to make postcards I came to the conclusion that I would have to take landscape images. However this turned out to just be the final image format and souvenirs was the real theme. The tourist shops in cities like London came to mind straight away. As the true meaning of souvenirs and examples of postcards were shown I saw images that used block colours in specific places of the image. I wonder if I can use block colours to excite portraits. 

That actually makes me think of Warhol's Marilyn Monroe images using consistancy and defined colour to define the image. An illustrator names Luke Weller recently came to give a talk and explained how he uses mono printing to give a rustic and rough look to what would have been a boring block colour. Maybe this is something that I could look into. 

I feel that still life would be too easy to achieve because the objects and the lighting is fully adjustable however controlling a model is a lot harder especially if I am working alone because I have to get the model right and adjust the lighting to match that position all myself. I find this challenging and that's why I enjoy taking fashion and organised portraits. Initial thoughts lead to taking black and white film photographs and then using prints, ink, paint etc to manipulate the image. This could possible change the whole image entirely. 

The shaded areas are there to show the use of colour or manipulation. Possible shapes and different uses/positions of the colours.