MONOPRINT meaning one print

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MONOPRINTmeaning one print

• American artists began making monotypes during
  the 1880s in Europe and the United States. In
  Italy Frank Duveneck and the artists in his
  circle created them on a portable press for their
  own amusement and taught the process to other
  artists when they returned to the United States.
  Artists studying in Paris also began making
  monotypes as a group activity, experimenting with
  the process in conjunction with their drawing or
  printmaking activity. None of them adopted it as
  a primary medium. Monotypes were made in a spirit
  of improvisation, a release from the restrictions
  of academic training.

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• Spontaneity and experimentation have always
  characterized the monotype. In contrast to other
  printmaking techniques, an artist does not need
  special equipment or technical training to make a
  monotype.
• In its purest and simplest form, a monotype is
  made by drawing with printer's ink or oil paint
  on a smooth surface such as glass or a metal
  plate.
• The image is then transferred to paper before it
  dries, using a printing press or other means of
  pressure, ranging from the back of a spoon to a
  palm of the hand, or even the wringer of an old
  washing machine.
• Because most of the image is transferred in the
  printing process, only one strong impression can
  be taken, hence the term monotype (one print).
• Additional impressions of the residual image are
  sometimes printed, but they are significantly
  fainter than the first pull. These are referred
  to as aghost print.

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Untitled (Group in Water)Eric Fischl, 1992color
monotype, 91.4 x 185.7 cm(36 x 73 1/8 in.),
Smithsonian American Art Museum
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Edwin DickinsonJoyce Treiman, 1987color
monotype with hand coloring and pencil additions,
(7 x 5 in.), Private Collection
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UntitledJoseph Jefferson, ca. 1885color
monotype, 35.7 x 50.7 cm(14 1/16 x 20 in.),
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase
and gift of the Reverend Dewolf Perry
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NarcissusJoseph Goldyne, 1978color monotype,
44.9 x 30.2 cm(17 11/16 x 11 7/8 in.), Private
Collection
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• The Pony,
• Paul Gauguin c. 1902 - sheet 32 x 59 cm
  gouache monotype touched with gum
• or varnish on laid paper

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Edgar Degas The Star, 1876-77, pastel on
monotype, Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
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Camille Pissarro Vacherie le soir, c. 1890
Monotype in warm black on woven paper sheet
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• Createx Monotype Colors are unique water-based,
  non-toxic, permanent paints crafted specifically
  for making monotypes.
• Simply paint on any non-absorbent surface (i.e.
  Plexiglas) and allow to dry.
• Transfer your image to dampened paper by rubbing,
  printing pin, or press.
• This unique water-based process allow unlimited
  time to create the image, unlike oil-based inks
  which must be printed before dried.
• Known as the most painterly method among the
  printmaking techniques, a monoprint is a non
  editionable kind of print and is essentially a
  printed painting.