Studio Notes no.74

monoprints and more

Photo: A tiny angel I painted recently - keeping for myself and thinking of making into a brooch with stitch frame (will show you what becomes of her).

Hello again,

It is early in the morning, I am on my second cup of tea, the aromatherapy diffuser is filling the air with lavender, and I writing to tell you I have recently re-discovered Tumblr and am now in a rabbit hole of abstract art, miniature mouse homes and cottage core / dark academia. Such is life. You can find a version of me on Tumblr at: paintinthemargins. I have not posted anything since 2018 but I might just start posting there again - (all the random things without the insta-worry. Instagram does not give me much joy these days. I dip in and scurry out, like a watchful lady blackbird). It’s strange going back to an old social media account of any kind. I note how clearly I am not the only one who abandoned my account some years ago. 

Looking down my list of subscribed-to accounts, I note at least half have not posted for at least several years. And then there’s the other half who are still posting. I am intrigued to know more about this phenomena, the staying on or the going back. As we move further into the twenty-first century, I feel our online lives will move toward a more circular, small huddle of community nature. At the moment, things feel like there’s one big content-making machine - but you know, you don’t need to stick your finger in the mincer if you don’t want to…. There are other ways to stay in touch - like writing a substack newsletter (please subscribe etc…) 

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photo: many random monoprint drawings - with the inky surface and needle that I use to draw.

Some notes on monoprint drawing. I have written about this several times before, so forgive me for repeating. I hope, however, that each time I write a little about my drawing that it is of interest and not too baffling.

I call my drawings monoprint drawings, but some other people might call them monotypes - I don’t wish to confuse you. These things are much the same.

It is important to note that there is not one right way to make a monoprint. I have my own eccentric ways and you will have yours, or will find them one day, possibly. 

To make a monoprint I need a rigid surface of some kind: plastic sheet, glass, card, wood - whatever - and this is covered in ink. The ink is allowed to settle, dry a little maybe. I might blot the surface, I might wipe some ink away. Then a sheet of paper is placed over the inky surface and a drawing is made. I draw using a large darning needle but other artists might use a pencil, or a pen nib, or a stylus or stick. Draw and then lift the paper and you get a mirror image drawing, of some kind. 

The ink can be applied to a rigid surface using a roller, or fingers, or a spoon, or a brush. The ink can be what I use: lino printing ink. Or it might be an oil-based ink. Years ago, I experimented with water mixable oil paint and that worked well, but I prefer lino ink because it is less smelly and the oil paint would sometimes leave an oily residue on the paper. I’ve also experimented with acrylics. Gouache works too but dries very quickly.

photo: sketchbooks featuring monoprint drawings - see how I combine the drawings with other media/elements to make conversations.

Where was I? Oh yes, inky fingers. The thing about monoprint drawing, or at least my own way of making a monoprint is it does involve smearing ink with my fingers. I do not like using a roller to apply ink to a rigid surface. I like the control of using my fingers and the ability to literally add my own fingerprints and thumb marks to the work. This works on the small scale that I operate in - I would not suggest fingers for large scale work!

There’s a lot of hit-and-miss with my approach. It is not something I can explain every step by step, or would want to. I certainly am not about to market a tutorial. I think there are better ways of going about it, for you. But my way is the best for me.

I sit and draw, I make marks and I fill up sheets of paper with lots of quickly-made and random things. The randomness and chancey-ness of them all is what I love. I am completely open to finding something or just not being enthralled. Quite often I am not enthralled, but that is fine as I know on another day there will suddenly appear a tiny scratchy figure with just a certain something about her, something I can’t quite describe in words, but she knows and I know - she will end up with a starring role. She might be included in my sketchbook, or an artist book. Or she might be part of a stand-alone collage. She might linger in my folder or sketchbook scraps for years and years, only to eventually float out on to my desk and land in a landscape she and I never saw before.

photo: monoprint drawing: visit to a gallery - this might become part of a collage - not sure yet.

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Coming to my Shop

My next update is this coming Wednesday, 1st Feb. I will begin to offer my spring tiny landscape lucky dip paintings! I am excited to begin what may feel like a journey from the middle of nowhere into spring…. I shall continue to offer my winter lucky dip paintings too - until the end of February.

There will also be a further selection of new wool embroidery brooches, other tiny paintings and more. Possibly a few monoprint drawings/collages.

Thank you always for your interest and support. 

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING UPDATE: Royal Mail has started to allow some packages to be sent again and hopefully things will soon be moving properly. Thank you so much to all international customers for your patience. I hope to begin to send things out very soon. You will be emailed with a shipping notification. Thank you.

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A few small stories from the past few weeks

So many starlings - they make the lawn into a dynamic, shifting rug of iridescent shapes. They move and bicker, hustle and pause. They fly off as one great sweep of feathers. I watch them and feel a little smug that I did not rake the leaves last autumn, for now the leaves have made great little habitats for insects and this is why the starlings love the lawn. The wood pigeon on the back fence watches them. Is he baffled by their social prowess, or just waiting for the lawn to become his own again?

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A bowl of spring colours: cotton yarn waiting to become a blanket. I love mindless, mindful knitting. This will be easy going compared to the very fine handspun wool yarn I am knitting into a shawl. Will I have the spring blanket knitted in time for, say, Easter? Or will it, somehow or other become a summer blanket really because that was what I had in mind all along?

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Daughter is sorting out her room, moving furniture, removing an old bed and building a new metal frame. She has her brother helping. They work quietly so I have no idea what stage things are at. I sit on my bed in the next room, stitching by hand, which is what I do most afternoons/evenings these days.  I know I cannot get involved, I won’t offer to lend a hand. Daughter has said that really it is best she gets on with things right now and in a way the fact that I cannot help at the moment is not such a bad thing. She ends up building her bed frame, herself, dismissing her brother from the room. She gets it done by bedtime, brings me a photo on her phone as proof she has somewhere to sleep. It has been a long day.

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Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy these notes and find something to inspire or make you smile. I hope you are keeping well and enjoying whatever you find outside your window, in your daily life. If you would like to buy me a coffee and support my writing this would be much appreciated. Many thanks to everyone for your continued support, for your comments and likes.

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