i have been feeling somewhat under-the-weather (by the cold, with a cold) during my break from the day job … so after christmas i have really pushed on with something that i have been meaning to do for some time.. to make something of all the prints from my collagraphs (i constructed them exactly one year ago; you can see the digital scans of the collagraph plates here, i played a little with photoshop)..
my background is in fine art printmaking and it’s always been there in my work, one way or another (papermaking, embossing, monoprinting), but i’ve no real desire to make pretty editions, it’s just the processes that i like.. here are a couple of artist proofs or A/Ps together with the original scans of the corresponding plates, printed using oil-based etching inks on hahnemühle 300gsm paper..
the only problem being that you do get through a good lot of quality paper.. after fifteen or so pulls from the plates i ended up with about six clean, sharp prints, so the rest i have decided to handcolour…
here is one altered collagraph print close-up, showing the textures of the surface embossing..
they were first sealed with a varnish and then i carefully adhered them to some small canvas blocks… [no frame required]..
there is something about prints, surfaces that are so tactile and appealing (due i think, to the printmaker’s close engagement with surface from the very beginning of construction) – it is no wonder i have a myopic vision with surfaces, i’ve been consumed by them for years (see some of my art college days work here..) – all this tactility is lost behind a box of glass and wood..
i had the idea that i wanted to reconstruct the malleable 2d print (the twin or ghost of another surface) into a three-dimensional form.. actually, this is an idea that i have been harbouring for years, wanting to make the printable surface the artwork, but when looking into etching on copper it was too costly for me..
i have cubed six of the altered intaglio prints so far (very time-consuming).. not even sure if they are intaglio prints anymore, maybe this is the middle ground, part painting, part printmaking, part object.. here are a couple more of the collagraph printing plates with residues of ink; they will never be discarded..
collographs or collagraphs, sometimes called collotypes or collage prints: the printing matrix is constructed from a base of strong card into which you can incise, carve or texturise with fillers, powders, sand, tissue paper, glue, paint or collage (anything goes, just musn’t be too deep or hilly).. they can be printed relief (as in woodblock) or intaglio (as with drypoint engraving or etching).. collagraphs are essentially very eco-friendly printmaking, and a little bit arte povera, with recycled or found materials..
January 6th, 2010 - 5:08 pm
What incredible texture you get with these! THanks for sharing this info – something I know nothing about
January 8th, 2010 - 12:45 am
I love both your plates & prints! Wonderful texture. What are the plates made of?
January 14th, 2010 - 5:54 pm
thanks for visiting – to answer your question – strong card, incised and textured in myriad ways
November 7th, 2010 - 10:12 pm
Splendid stuff, beartiful textures and evocative colours. Technical question…How long do you leave your paper before varnishing and what varnish do you use?
November 13th, 2010 - 2:01 pm
many thanks for your question…
technical answer – would say about 2-3 weeks minimum, although most of my prints were coloured & varnished a few months after the printing. the intaglio prints were under boards for a day or so then pegged up to cure properly. any varnishing would depend on thickness & density of ink on the paper – relief/block prints being quite different to intaglio prints. i use an acrylic formulation picture varnish but dilute it to eliminate brushmarks – and very thinly applied. i’d be reluctant to use anything spirit-based as this could adversely affect the fibres of the paper – although all of this would also depend on what type of paper you are printing on.
November 21st, 2010 - 3:12 am
Jazz, wonderful prints. They are truly inspiring.
I just wonder tho, as a painter first (and printmaker only lately) if you are using oil based inks will an acrylic based vanish not cause problems in the future? I know from bitter experience in painting that acrylics do not go over oil paint.
November 21st, 2010 - 6:13 pm
liz – thank you for the comment with regard to using varnish
i will try to answer your query – and i hope this doesn’t become a paper on the do’s & dont’s of varnishing! this is obviously based on my own observations & experiences.
any organic, textile-based artwork (canvas, paper, wool, etc) will show deterioration of some kind over time – from dust, humidity, sunlight, etc – affected by how it is displayed or stored. conservation is only a means to minimise these factors. in terms of 2d mixed media art, its archival nature largely depends on the successful bonding and/or consolidation of the layers of media used, together with some protection from outside elements as mentioned.
the surface of an intaglio print is significantly different in structure to an oil painting in that a lot of the substrate (the paper) is still exposed – it is still porous. i used this factor to colour open areas of the paper, the oil-based ink naturally resisting the diluted, water-based media. the acrylic medium is diluted so that it bonds effectively with the more absorbent parts of the paper, not as a thick topcoat over the whole work. an acrylic formulation does not adhere to an oil-based surface for obvious reasons. you will probably know that oil-based mediums continue to ‘cure’ or oxidise over many months if not years, dependent of course on its depth and viscosity. i chose not to use a spirit/solvent based varnish because of this and because it could yellow the paper, and could be quite acidic – whereas acrylic is usually ph neutral. a wax-based medium could also work but again would darken or change the colours.
technically speaking, i obviously want to protect the surface of the paper from humidity, but i have many oil-based prints in my collection that even after nearly twenty years have not faded, flaked or crackled – they are not varnished or sealed.
however, it should also be said that many artists nevertheless use the incompatibility of different media for aesthetic effects – it’s for them to decide if their work holds up or degrades after only a few years – i’m not judging that here!
my artistic objective is to create a paper-based work that is not framed behind glass – in this regard it is no different to any mixed media collage on panel or canvas. for ultimate conservation paper-based works should be hermetically sealed in a box or frame, or stored flat in the dark between sheets of acid-free tissue paper – but a contemporary artist has to balance archival issues with the necessity for their art to be appreciated as originally conceived and intended – if this creative departure were not allowed we would not have picasso’s cubist collages!
if by chance one of my own works found itself in the tate archives i think it would be less of an issue to conserve than say a kiefer, who burns, abrades, adds glass, lead, straw to his paint surfaces, etc. i once read somewhere that they used PVA to fix one of his canvases!
btw, i am not new to printmaking.
November 24th, 2010 - 5:11 am
Thanks Jazz,
What you say makes absolute sense.