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- Planning a Monochromatic Print
Welcome back my printmaking nerds! How is summer treating you so far? I’ll answer how mine is after I clean up my melted ice cream.
In this week’s issue…
Working smarter. Not harder.
We talk to Tres Gatos Press
Question Time!
Let’s dive in…
Sketch of the Week
A few days ago, I went to the Haggin Museum to work on some sketches. Here is a new take of Keith’s ‘Mount Tamalpais.’
Ladies and Gentlemen Pull Your Phones Out
Some people hold the idea that art is created by the chosen few with all of the ‘God-given talent’. That a drawing is only good when it's drawn by hand or that CNC machines that carve blocks for relief prints should not count as true printmaking.
Well, I am sorry to break it to you, but artists have been using these tools at their disposal to make great art. Vremeer, one of the greatest Dutch masters, used a camera obscura, and we don't sit here debating if he was a real artist. If you don't believe me then read this interview with Alexis Nutuni, where he makes an excellent case about the use of new technology in printmaking.
The smartphone is one of those tools that almost everyone has in their pocket. This is how I use it to plan monochromatic prints.
For this example, I will be using an iPhone, but you can do this with any kind of phone, tablet, or computer with the already embedded photo editing software.
Start by picking your picture. In this case, I will be using this picture of Yosemite Falls which was taken in December 2021.
Go to your ‘photo’’ gallery and select the image you want to edit. Click on the ‘edit’ button on the top right corner.
This will bring you to the ‘adjust’ menu. Here you can play around with filters, exposure light, and contrast.
I always start by applying a filter. iPhones have three monochromatic filters to choose from: Mono, Silvertone, Noir. Each has a unique feel to them. I tend to work with Noir.
I then move on to exposure and adjust it until I find the right look for me. I work my way down with Brilliance, Sharpness and end up reversing the image.
At this point, I like to stare at the composition and determine if this will actually work or not. Since I already know how I carve, I get a mental idea of how this would look when complete. This picture has a lot going on and does not focus enough on the Yosemite Falls so you can see how I decided to crop it.
If I am satisfied with the way the picture looks, I typically print it out. If I am happy with it, I can start sketching it to get a feel of the composition, if I am happy with that sketch then I start transferring the image to my block.
So, there you have it! An easy way to plan out a monochromatic print without having to waste a block!
Artist Highlight: Tres Gatos Press
We talk with Guadalajara-based printmaking duo Alejandra & Xavier the creatives behind Tres Gatos Press this week! This interview has been translated from the Spanish, condensed and then edited for understanding.
Location: Guadalajara, Mexico
Daniel: What are the techniques and mediums you like to work with?
Xavier: Relief printmaking, because its 100% homemade can be worked at home. In fact, we have taken out a mini tortillera and walked in the streets and show how it's done. As long as there is pressure you can do relief printmaking. Regarding mediums: Linoleum, MDF and wood. The last two are less common but relief printing with linoleum is our forte.
Daniel: You are known everywhere for your alternative press. When you work with a tortillera, is it better to use a wooden or a metal one, which one works better for you? Is there a difference between them?
Alejandra: Yes, of course there are differences. Wood, definitely wood is better. Because the metal one comes from the factory, calibrated for tortilla dough. The wooden one allows you to modify it, to use it as a press.
Daniel: Outside technical skills is there something else that is important for a printmaker to have?
Alejandra: Community. We [have] met many artists! Our community started to grow. We started to collaborate with other artists, and the community grew even more, since we were all locked up with COVID, with that uncertainty, with that depression!
Xavier: As we were locked up, we ran out of a lot of the material we had in stock, and that's how we found a way to continue working without cash. That's where the idea to use coffee filters to print came about and how to make a gouge with an umbrella.
Read the full interview here.
Connect with Alejandra and Xavier here: @tresgatospress
Question Time!
I wonder about storing your prints once they are dried. Do you have a specific system you use to keep them flat and safe until shipping? Do you put something between your prints, so they don't stick together?
This is actually a problem I have been having for quite some time. I live in a two bedroom apartment and sacrificed one room so that I could use it as a printmaking studio. In this room, I keep my workbench, a couple shelves where my books, shipping supplies, and “my archive” lives.
My archive (I say archive with a lot of liberty here) lives in two places: a cardboard box underneath my workbench and inside three drawers of an old hand-me-down dresser. I do not have fancy flat file cabinets. If you know of anyone selling some in Northern California, hit me up!
These drawers are where I keep my small prints, blocks, and some packing materials.
Before any prints make it to the “archive,” I hang them to dry for one whole week or until they are ‘rub proof,’ meaning I can run my fingers and it will not smear. Once everything is absolutely dry, I simply put all prints of the same category inside an acid-free photo bag and that’s it. I do not add layers of glassine between each print. I have found that as long as the print is completely dry, glassine is not necessary. If you have multiple layers of ink, then you increase your chances that they will stick to each other. If you only used one ink, it shouldn't be a problem.
Very rarely have I had an issue where my prints stick to each other. Yet, if this is an issue you are facing you can most definitely place sheets of glassine between your prints. If you need a more affordable option, you can also use a low weight printmaking paper (74gsm) for this.
If you do want to use glassine and live in the United States, here are some places where you can grab some:
None of these prices include taxes and shipping. Also, because I live in California, Dick Blick packages take 8-10 days to arrive. Whereas Uline can arrive in 1-3 days. I have not had luck with Amazon papers as they always arrive damaged (as a previous Amazon employee I know why) so I don't even bother.
Given my storage limitations, I never work in editions higher than 40. When I predetermine the edition size, I never end up pulling a complete edition in one run. The most I do is 20 or in the case of large prints like ‘Midnight in the Valley’ (edition of 30), at 18 x 24 inches, I print 10 at a time. I store larger prints on the cardboard box under my workbench and anything smaller than 11x14 inside the dresser.
When a sheet of paper refuses to flatten out, I address this before the sheets are printed on by making a paper and wood sandwich. I place my sheets of paper between two pieces of maple plywood. Then set encyclopedias and heavy books on top. I literally have kept my encyclopedias for the sole purpose of using them as dead weight. I leave the encyclopedias on top for a few days. Good planning is crucial.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week!
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