more collagraphs

Trowbridge Island Lighthouse

collagraph

I am really enjoying experimenting with this type of loose printmaking (collagraph). I think it is the surprise factor is that excites me the most. You build a plate but really don't know what you will get due to various factors that include the textures from the various collaged media, how well the plate is inked and wiped, the amount of pressure exerted on the plate by the press roller.

Here is my first print off a small square matboard plate I constructed on Friday. Decided to print this as a monochromatic as a test to see how the resultant image would translate onto paper.

This is a study I did from a freehand sketch made from a photo taken of Trowbridge Island lighthouse, located at the entrance to Thunder Bay near the Sleeping Giant peninsula. It is also not a big study by any means, in fact I would classify it as a miniature since it is only 10 x10 cm in plate size (4 inches square).

As I wiped the plate I saw areas that I wanted a little more defined as lightest in the print so did some spot wiping and ink removal with q-tips.

The plate was constructed using cut out pieces of scrap ends of printmaking paper, modeling paste, white and yellow carpenters glue plus peeling away a little of the top layer of the mat board.  I worked the modeling paste with the end of a pencil to get those swirly shapes happening in the foliage that defines the area in the middle of the print.

It was sealed with water based varathane (3 coats).

Printed into a scrap end piece of Canson Edition rag. Akua Carbon black intaglio ink (not thinned down).

I may print a few more monochromatic from the plate and apply hand color just to see what that does to the image.