Styles and Methods: Part 1

Over the years of developing my artistic style, I have tried many different techniques. Although not all were for me, I do like to work in a variety of media and styles. Some of my work tends to be serious, while some is more whimsical and illustrative. 

Dead Albatross, 2011
Monoprint and collagraph with chine collé
Irregular edition of 6

Dead Albatross was inspired by media reports detailing the ongoing problem of pollution in our oceans and its effect on bird and marine life. It was also influenced by photographer Chris Jordan's images of dead birds from his Midway series. This work portrays an albatross whose death was caused by ingesting plastic in polluted waters. 

In 2012 this work was selected for inclusion in the Waterhouse Natural History Exhibition (in Adelaide), winning Third Prize in the Youth Section. 

The methods I have used are a combination of monoprinting and a collagraph with chine collé. This probably sounds like gobbledygook to most, so let me explain! 

Monoprinting is fairly straightforward and basically just what it sounds like: in fact, most people as kids have probably done some kind of monoprinting in the form of butterfly paintings (painting on one side of a piece of paper, then folding it in half to duplicate, forming a symmetrical pattern). To create this piece I painted on a piece of cardboard the sandy background colour using intaglio inks. Placing a piece of damp paper on top, I ran both through a printing press to transfer the ink to my damp paper.

The formation of a collagraph begins with making a collage of sorts. Different textural materials ranging from string and netting to carborundum grit, feathers and cardboard are glued onto a piece of cardboard, forming the matrix. (The matrix is not the end product, merely the block from which repeated prints can be pulled). The matrix is inked up using intaglio ink and dabbers, so the ink is pushed into all the cracks of the various textures. I wipe back any excess ink, and once again take my damp paper (already coloured with my monoprint) and place it on top. Put through the press, the ink from the matrix transfers, forming the most prominent layer of this print (the bird).

But what about those coloured bits? They were created using a technique called chine collé, which is where little bits of very thin paper are glued on one side and placed on the matrix plate of the collagraph. When the damp paper is placed on top and everything run through the press, the thin paper is transferred, along with the ink from the collagraph.