Brayer Paintings-trace monotypes and drawings

 

"And Just Like that It was over. "

I have a folder of work that I've been creating, off-and-on, for a half-dozen years. These odd, mostly abstract or vaguely recognizable images I've been calling brayer paintings but they are more correctly referred to as transfer monotypes and/or ink drawings, created by drawing or painting directly onto the paper with a brayer, or indirectly by the transfer of ink off a glass plate by rubbing or marking a sheet of paper from the back, while it is face-down on a inked glass slab.  

 While I mostly work with water-based pigments and the Japanese method of woodblock prints,  I make traditional western prints too--drypoints and etchings and also occasional works incorporating letterpress text, all of which are printed using oil-based relief inks, usually rolled onto a slab or glass plate, and then transferred to the plate or mobile type. After the day's work is over, clean-up means getting the excess ink off the plate,  first by scraping it off with a piece of scrap cardstock or by placing newsprint on the plate and rubbing that to get the ink off before using vegetable oil and soap and water to wash the plate and brayer. 

 

 

Untitled, (Failing Memory)

But as I noticed that I sort of liked the newsprint or paper towels that I lifted off the glass, the ink transferred to the face down surface, it was an easy thing to start making them on purpose,  using clean pieces of bond paper--acid free printing (xerox) paper--and deliberately working to pull off ink in a semi-guided way. I could lay the clean paper face down on the inked slab, and then rub it with my fingers or fingernails, the back handle of a paintbrush or any simple implement.On others, I worked directly with the brayer, using it to draw on the paper directly and layering thin and thick layers of ink.

   

"Sleep and Death" (two doors).

 

I liked the results, but realized that I should try to use good paper rather than copy paper.  However using paper of better quality made it much harder to work freely. With good Japanese paper,  there is always a hesitation and fear of "wasting" an expensive piece of handmade paper by making a mistake or ruining a promising start, and that hindered the spontaneity and directness that made these simple works interesting.  

I solved that by (for the most part) by cutting down whole sheets into A4 size and having a folder--at hand--and reserved for just this purpose. With a folder full of paper, it's been a little easier to work without worrying too much about making a mistake.  So at the end of my occasional oil-based projects, I usually find time to make 1 or 2 pieces using the leftover ink and the wet brayer. 

I consider these part drawing, part painting, and part printmaking. They start off as abstract markings, but gradually they start to get pushed into a direction guided by the evolving image.  Like passing clouds that take on the likeness of animals or figures, my ink-slab drawings start to suggest subjects and titles. 

"Passing Storm" 2020

 

 

 

Well see how far these can go.  I'd like to work a little bigger--try with a bigger brayer and a full sheet of paper--or go even bigger but with both bigger and smaller brayers or ink rollers....the key is to keep making them, without thinking too much. 

Valentine

Valentine, 2017; aquatint, etching and trace monotype.

Don't look for deep, symbolic meaning. This is just a stylized, parasitic, toothed, Lamprey, with a heart-shaped tongue, and hollow, sweet cliches stamped on it for Valentine's Day. 

I've been frequenting the Printmaking Studio and Cultural Association, Il Bisonte, in Florence during their once a week evening classes. It's been years since I did any etching or worked with a press and I was ready to spend one night a week in the company of etchers.  I like to work small and I chose to start with a square, zinc plate and some sketches from my "random doodles" sketchbook.  I started out with a simple cartoon of two entwined Lampreys called "Lampreys in Love" and then with Valentines day and all, I got kind of carried away.  For those who don't know, the Lamprey is a primitive, jawless fish that is a parasite on other acquatic animals. It attaches to the body of other fish and uses the serrated teeth and sucker mouth to attach firmly to the body of the host/victim. It has a toothed raspy tongue that bores into the side and it feeds off the body fluids and blood of the host. It doesn't necessarily kill the fish it's attached to--but they can perish from the gradual weakening through the loss of blood and nutrients, and the constant wound and weakened state can lead to infections and death. The Lamprey has a complex life cycle--similar to that of the Salmon, hatching in fresh water rivers and streams, growing in fresh water, then moving out to sea to become adults and living for years in the open sea but coming back to fresh water to spawn. Once highly prized among royalty, as it is a "meaty" fish and could be eaten during Lent and was consumed in very large quantities (leading to gouty flares among the rich and puffy).

The Nekko company has been making candy and wafers since the 1800s. One of their best sellers, especially around this time of year, are their candy hearts.  Small sugar wafers, die cut and printed with various coy sayings. They're smart enough to change with the times. They now come with "text me" or "LOL", etc.

But my Lampreys are purists. So I went with the classics from my childhood schooldays.

BE MINE, TRUE LOVE, REAL LOVE, MISS YOU. (I skipped STUCK ON YOU, ALL MINE, and a few others due to space issues and some emotional baggage).

These are small 4"x4" images, printed using oil based inks, a la poupee for the color with trace monotypes in purple ink for the words.