printmaking – beA mAhAn

17 Apr

Faux Lithographs

It’s been a while since I’ve had access to a printing press, and I really miss it. However, that hasn’t stopped me from seeking out new ways to experiment with handmade printing. I recently came across the geli plate technique and have discovered a whole new world for creating very special monotypes. I love how versatile it is, allowing for the creation of various textures and expressive charcoal strokes. The final result reminds me of a genuine lithograph, which is why I’ve named this collection “Faux Litho”. The main theme of this collection is the secret garden, which is a part of my creative inspiration with flowers and gardens.

You can find some of them listed them on my website, you can also contact me and ask for the entire catalog.

20 Nov

Differences between digital and original art prints

How to see the difference between DIGITAL printmaking and ORIGINAL art prints?

With the appearance of digital reproductions within art, we can confuse a handmade piece with a digital one. This happens especially within the world of printmaking, since both techniques generate editions or “copies”.

For me there is only one type of PRINTMAKING, the artisan one! An original printmaking is a handmade craft work. It means that a matrix is carefully made and one or more copies are hand printed from it. Digital impressions, on the other hand, are made by a printer based on a computer image (which can be either a copy of one of our original works, or an image created entirely on the computer) and which is automatically printed without variation. Because it is now possible to make printed editions on a printer, we also speak of digital printmaking. But for me it’s a completely different technique that should not be called printmaking art.

Let’s see some NOTABLE DIFFERENCES that you can see between a hand-print and a digital print:

Textures: if you gently touch the image, you will feel a TEXTURE. In certain engravings or etchings a slight texture or relief can be appreciated due to the pressure of the press on the paper. In digital prints it does not exist.

Mark of the plate on the paper (in the original prints where you can see a border around the image): If you are not sure if it is an original or a digital copy, turn it over and look at its back, you will notice that there is a relief that frames the image. It is the matrix of the print. In digital prints it does not exist.

Edition differences: If you have the opportunity to see several copies at the same time, you will notice that in the original edition there may be certain differences between one copy and another. In the digital edition copies they are all exactly the same.

Price: Being an original copy made by hand, original printmaking tends to be more expensive than digital ones.

Digital reproductions are a very valuable tool for artists, since they allow us to reproduce photographs of our own works, when we do not want to expose or sell the original. I am old fashioned, and I think craftsmanship has a soul and a life of its own thanks to all the manual process behind it… I think it is essential to know the differences in order to better appreciate and understand a work on paper.

And you, do you notice these differences?

25 Oct

The printmaking process

To understand this process we need to know first what an original print is and how it is made.

A print is a work of graphic art which has been conceived by the artist to be realized as an original work of art. Prints are produced by drawing or carving an image onto a hard surface (known as a matrix) such as a wood block, metal plate, or stone. This surface is then inked and the image is transferred to paper or another material by the application of pressure, thus creating an impression, or print. The printed image that results is the exact reverse of the image on the plate.

Unlike paintings or drawings, prints usually exist in multiple impressions, each of which has been created from the same inked plate. The set of identical impressions (prints) made from an individual matrix created by the artist, either working alone or in conjunction with a master printer are called an edition. The process of printing the edition is therefore just as important to the authenticity of a print as the act of inscribing the image onto the plate.

This long process makes me think of printmaking as alchemy: a long experimental process where all the elements and materials have to fit together on a perfect moment in order to transmute into something powerful and precious.

Metals and card boards become matrices, those receive ink that become stamps and fibers become a sheet of paper, paper scraps arranged together to create something new. This is a marvelous and incredible transmutation which is the guide of all my work.

I feel myself fascinated by the sudden effects that I found through this process. There are many accidents generated that I can incorporate to the pieces of art. The mystery of not knowing exactly the result I am going to obtain makes me feel completely caught, since it seems to me that materials are alive.

Prints fall into categories depending on their method of production, which can be several: etching, dry point, linocut, lithography, dry point, collagraph, screen print, etc. Within each category, there are a lot of techniques to achieve different effects.

I do mostly etchings on copper plates (I have a large collection listed on my etsy shop). Here is a brief description of that process:

Preparing the plates

Cut the plate to desire size · Bevel the edges · If it is unpolished, you have to polish the surface · Degrease it.

Varnish and biting a plate

Protect the back of the plate · Ground the plate with the desire technique (wax ground, white ground, rosin, etc.) · Prepare the acids · Etch the plate

Preparing the inks

Prepare the colors if needed · Depending on the color or type of ink, you need to adjust its viscosity

Proofs of state

Start printing! · We need to check if we are satisfied with the etched lines and tones (if not, we have to do it all over again!) · The amount of ink and colors · The pressure of the press · Size and type of paper

Preparing the paper

Cutting the paper by hand · Dampen it and take out the excess of water

Inking

Preparing the hot plate · Soften the tarlatan to wipe the ink on the plate

Printing

Preparing the registration for placing the plates on the press and print!

Drying and pressing

Left to dry · Place the prints between blotting paper and under pressure

Thank you for your interest in this technique I adore! You can find the finished pieces here in this section and in my etsy shop. You can also find more information, descriptions and glossary terms on these websites: magical secrets, ifpda, smidgeon press.