Abstract Expressionistic Monoprints

As I said last time, the purpose of this time away from my studio (other than shameless self-promotion) is to encourage you to create. Now, that doesn’t mean you need to create a painting, an opera, or the great American novel. Your passion may lie in what is widely considered a non-artistic field such as math and science. Whatever forms your bliss takes, follow it. You will find your creativity almost always shares the face of what you love. The best way to tell if you are on the right track is if you have joy about what you are doing even when encountering the, what most would call, difficulties associated with the task involved.

Of course if you think you’d like to try painting, or writing, or playing music, or any of the other arts, please by all means let this be the impetus to get you started. Regardless of what anyone has told you there will never be too many artists in the world. Beauty, truth and free expression are sadly in short supply.

If the visual art interests you, let me briefly describe a process that has given me excellent results. Perhaps it can open the world of painting up to you. One little disclaimer here: I am an abstract expressionist for the most part. So, if you want a finished product that everyone immediately recognizes, you may want to explore other techniques. Drawing will eventually give you those results if you practice long enough. Yes it’s true. Anyone can draw given enough practice training the hand to capture what the eye sees.

"Cracked Prism"

My work and the process described here are geared towards non-objective or non-representational images. I seek to express my emotions and the energy within and around me rather than reproducing images of, say, apples on a table. If I need one, I generally take a photograph of said apple.

Early on I worked primarily with geometric shapes, but eventually tired of them. In frustration with one such piece I laid it down and began slinging white and black paint over the primary spheres I had painstakingly painted. I know this is not a new technique. It was not even a new technique when Jackson Pollock made it famous in the 1950’s. That is not the point. The point is that I fell in love with it. It looked great; it was an excellent contrast to the obvious geometrics and I enjoyed the release of frustration in applying the paint in that way. I felt invigorated rather than tired when I left the studio that day.

"Big Idea Bypass"

This is another clue to whether you’re heading the right direction. There should be an influx or energy that matches or exceeds any expenditure. It is almost as if there is an exchange of energy when you are doing something you enjoy. Case in point: It could be said, and more than once has been, that any monkey can sling paint like Pollock did. This is simply untrue. Pollock’s masterful work looks like it does because of the emotional energy and purpose he expressed in a seemingly random way. And of course he didn’t keep or like everyone he painted. You should also be pleased in some way with the results you get from this method. Note I did not say satisfied. In fact your creative bliss should also drive you with some of that energy to improve to as close to perfection as possible.

That’s why when I first tried these methods, I did so sparingly; partly because I fell victim to the common misconception many suffer from about drip/pour painting being somehow akin to finger painting; a child’s method. Any monkey, or elephant, or dog with a brush tied to his tail gets the same results. Right? WRONG!!!

"Sister Systems"

So, I went back to other methods of abstraction, but was steadily drawn back to the drip and pour method. I even disguised it to some degree by using palette knives, paste spreaders, and even spatulas to smooth and blend the poured paints. This technique rendered various results, which had more of an impressionistic rather than expressionistic feel. I was pleased with them, especially when I took the time to meditate on them, really SEE them, and allowed my right brain to find images within the clouds of paint.
I left some of these found images alone, but some I began to bring out with various drawing methods.

"No Mo Lilies"

Still I was drawn back and continuously invigorated by the pour and drip method. I photograph my own work, not only for the purpose of recording my progress, but also as a step in the process of digitally manipulating the work into something else entirely. I told myself that action painting, or drip painting was merely a step in this process.

"Sandman"

When my father fell ill, I had a huge amount of internal struggle to deal with. At the same time I was reading extensively about Pollock. I believed that I understood what Pollock meant about “not worrying about destroying a painting.” I took this to mean that you can’t throw too much at the canvas. The painting is finished when it’s finished, but don’t be afraid to push the envelope beyond numerous layers.

"Between Tremors"

The resulting canvases were spectacular if I do say so myself, but another benefit / process step emerged from this realization. Before I had either allowed raw canvas to show through or had spread bottom layers of paint to cover. Now in trying to maintain the heavy bottom layers of paint, I first covered by pressing a cut up cardboard box into the canvas and then adding layers over the smashed paint on the canvas. The cardboard was unusable again, but the pattern of the paint picked up by the cardboard was amazing. This monoprint process produced a much more desirable effect when using a stable support such as Masonite, canvas boards, paper or Plexiglas.

"Exiting Depression"

Lay down a hard surface, such as a large sheet of plywood, or if you’re of a mind the floor itself will do. Start a drip / pour painting on this surface. Once you have several layers of the colors you choose, or at least some pattern or configuration that is pleasing to you take one of the supports mentioned above and press it into the paint. If you want more action in your monoprint, slide it gently in one direction or another. Then pull the support off the painted surface. If the result doesn’t have as much action as you would like, tilt it to allow the paint to run slightly. When you have the image effect you desire, place the monoprint on a flat surface, paint up and allow it to dry.

On Plexiglas the effect is closer to what you actually see when you lay the paint down. This is important to remember because normally painting on Plexiglas is done backwards. These monoprints normally print backwards. That is the paint you lay down last will normally be viewed on bottom, but with Plexiglas, which is viewed backwards anyway the last paint is on top as it in a standard painting technique.

"Floater"
Monoprint on Mat Board

I know for most artists these sound like very primitive printing methods, but they are extremely enjoyable, especially if you want to try painting without first attending lengthy classes or incurring great expense.

"Sibling Rivalry"

Monoprint on Plexiglas

I hope you will try these methods and create many beautiful images.