Printmaking 05: Screenprint – Life Energy (first prints)

By 26th March 2008August 22nd, 2023Blog

Monoprint: Life Energy marbled
I made a photo-screen by applying oil onto the paper stencils to make them translucent, then placing the oiled stencils side-by-side on the ultraviolet exposing machine (there must be a proper name for that machine, not just “the gigantic scary photocopier”; note to self: find out). The idea was to have both a positive and negative version of the same image on the same print.

After making the photo-screen I used acrylic paint mixed with acrylic medium on the screen to pull a series of about six prints. Technically, these are mono-prints; even though the screen is exactly the same each time, I used a somewhat different mix of colours for each print. As the subject matter is Life Energy, I wanted earthy tones such as terracotta to reflect that theme.

This one was particularly successful. I like the marbled effect where the orange and brown acrylic mingled. Not sure where the purple came from, but it’s OK in context.