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| "Koi Fish," by Vanessa Martin, 2011. Monoprint, 14" x 22". |
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| "Prickly Pears," by Vanessa Martin, 2011. Monoprint, 14" x 22". |
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| "Rainbow Fern," by Vanessa Martin, 2011. Monoprint, 14" x 22". |
A couple of years back I signed up for a summer painting class. It didn't make and I was talked into taking Printmaking I instead. I spent a couple of months creating monoprints for the very first time and I had a ball. These are three that I really enjoy looking at. The general process involves applying Akua water soluble inks to a piece of Plexiglass then running the plate and a thick piece of high rag printmaking paper through the press to transfer the ink to the paper. This can be done more than once and in more than one way.
The first piece is a happy accident, in that when pulling a "ghost print" after my initial prints (there were three others) I added a couple of fish shaped masks that had ink on both sides. The ink underneath smeared a bit, causing the shadow effect which really makes them look like they're swimming in shallow water. The second print was one of four in a series and has the addition of chin colle (little pieces of magenta paper) for the pears added to the print after several layers of color and detail. The last print was created by putting a rainbow of ink on a plate, speckling it with alcohol for the bubbles at left, then laying a piece of real fern on top before printing. Then I removed the fern and ran it again for the colors within the fern shape. Overall, it was a great deal of fun to do.
Oh my gosh these are beautiful. The flow of the fish show a traditional Japanese style. I love the fade of the colors and how they all come together well. The shadows Really give it a 3D affect. All the colors in each photo is beautiful all the shapes read nicely . Over all this is a great set.
ReplyDelete"koi fish" has great unity. The colors of the fish and background go together very well. The shadow under the left fish gives the picture depth, which makes it look like they are actually swimming. There is great movement within the print.
ReplyDeleteHi Vanessa, Your piece Koi Fish is really lovely. It is peaceful and at the same time shows movement of the graceful koi through the water. I think the shadow under the one gives the piece realistic depth - three dimensions. Beautiful printmaking. Getting talked into the class was a happy accident. Jaime
ReplyDeleteThe "Rainbow Fern" is absolutely amazing. It creates exactly what you think when you think of nature, colorful, vibrant and beautiful. The piece also does a good job of leading you around the entire print so that you see that complete piece, not just the colors or the fern itself, but the piece as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI personally love paintings of koi fish, but what I found was interesting is that you used desert like colors. The fish job is beautiful forms and the pallet of color choice i thought was interesting. It goes nicely with the second picture. I like the bottom picture as well, its an attention grabber with all that red and I love the shade of blue and green and how it seeps into the red and changes color. I like that all the paintings are simple, but still pleasing to the viewer.
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