Out of the passages project came Highways and Byways, a series of work that focuses on skies encountered through wandering paths, lonely highways, and rugged landscapes. While painting these ideas is invigorating, I thought the subject matter would lend itself well to printmaking, specifically monotypes.
Monotypes are a printmaking process where each result is unique because the plate is wiped clean after each use. Like watercolor painting, monotypes offer an element of chance: one can prepare all day long, but the pressure of the roller on the plate will often deliver unexpected results. This is the beauty of it.
I started experimenting with plexiglass plates and Akua inks. I like Akua because they clean up with soap and water while still behaving like traditional inks. They take some practice, but I’ve been able to achieve a great deal of beautiful marks with them.
The natural progression of this endeavor was to try making watercolor monotypes, which I worked on steadily throughout the winter and spring. I plan to continue exploring this process later this fall, when my schedule quiets down.
