This article is about botanical Monotype Printmaking at home using a gel printing plate. Foraging some plant life from the outdoors and using these natural elements in printmaking.
Botanical Monotype
Botanical monotypes are one of a kind prints created after using plants like a stencil. The ink from the plate inks the plant material and afterward, the inked plants can create a textural surface on your paper. It is a little like playing with positive and negative space.
This process was so much fun and can give you a break from all of the hard work you do every day. The plants I chose were some bark from a silver dollar tree as well as its leaves. I also used some early spring flowers and some weeds that grew.
Monotypes
Monotypes are when you make a print using a matrix and it is a non repeatable process. There are some elements which can be repeated, but it is meant to be more of a one of a kind art form that is similar to painting.
The Video
I recorded the process and thought it would be fun to share with you.
The Materials Used
I experimented a bit with the materials in this botanical monotype. I experimented with plants and different papers I am not used to using.
Check out this post about Paper.
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What Materials are used in the video
Speedball Professional Relief Ink
Soft Rubber Brayer
Strathmore Bristol Board Paper
Gel Press Printing Plate – 12” x 12”
Speedball Baren
The Results
After all of printmaking, I was reluctant to stop. Here are the results from this monotype printmaking session.