Printmaking: Watercolor Monotypes

Elody Printmaking: Watercolor Monotypes Made with

Several sheets Printmaking Paper 1 set regular or liquid Watercolors A few tablespoons worth Gum Arabic or Clear Liquid Dish soap 1 Tray Of Water - Bigger Than Your Paper Several sheets Printmaking Paper 1 set regular or liquid Watercolors A few tablespoons worth Gum Arabic or Clear Liquid Dish soap 1 Tray Of Water - Bigger Than Your Paper 1 or more Sheet Of Plexiglass Or Mylar 1 Palette: Watercolor palette Or Tupperware Lid 2 Disponible Or Cotton Rags Or Cheesecloth 1 Water Container Several Assorted Watercolor Brushes 1 A Towel 1 Rolling Pin Or Bottle 2 Wooden spoon

Get App Pour a little of your gum arabic (preferable) or dish soap into a container. 1 Made with

Get App Soak a bit of your rag in it and smear it across your sheet of plexiglass or Mylar. 2 Made with

Get App With a clean rag, gently go over it again to soak up any excess, so you have an even thin coating. 3 Made with

Get App Set it aside to dry. Now fill a tray with water. You can use anything that’s bigger than your paper. 4 Made with

Get App Submerge your PRINTMAKING paper. Soak for an hour or more. Regular paper is too fragile for this. 5 Made with

Get App I’m going to test both regular and liquid watercolors. 6 Made with

Get App First: liquid watercolors. I’ll drop a few colors onto my palette. 7 Made with

Get App You can put other paper of the same size underneath the Mylar/plexiglass so you know where to paint. 8 Made with

Get App I’ll paint an imaginary sunset. Notice how the wet colors bleed into each other. 9 Made with

Get App Now I’ll try the regular watercolors with a flower pattern. 10 Made with

Get App Set it aside to dry. If you have any puddles like this, it’s not ready! Drying can take awhile. 11 Made with

Get App When ready, pull your wet paper out and place it on a towel. Fold the towel over the paper. 12 Made with

Get App Very gently roll it with your rolling pin (or thermos or bottle!) to remove excess water. 13 Made with

Get App Carefully place your paper. Don’t adjust or it will smear! Top with a clean sheet of regular paper. 14 Made with

Get App If you have access to a printing press, use it. If not, firmly rub with the back of a wooden spoon. 15 Made with

Get App And/or slowly and firmly roll with your rolling pin or other roller. 16 Made with

Get App Reveal your work! Watercolor monotypes are unpredictable and surprising which makes them fun! 17 Made with

Get App I’ll do another two. Watch how much the wet colors swirl around. If you make a mistake, wipe it up. 18 Made with

Get App I’ll try one where I let it dry fully in between two stages for more control. 19 Made with

Get App After drying, the new colors interact less with the previous layer. 20 Made with

Get App When the plate is fully dry and the paper fully soaked, it’s time to print! 21 Made with

Get App Again, first towel paper. This time I’ll press hard everywhere to be sure I get all the color. 22 Made with

Get App Done! You can let your prints dry pressed between clean sheets of paper to make sure they dry flat. 23 Made with

Get App You can make a ghost print or paint back into your plates. Then wash and reuse them again and again! 24 Made with

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