How To Make A Lithograph From A Painting
How to make a painterly print
By Artists & Illustrators | Monday 19th Mar 2018
Printmaker Lara Scouller praises the aesthetic qualities of the lithograph and shows the bottom-known technique of waterless lithography
I have been getting acquainted with waterless lithography and its ability to produce strong tonal prints. I was lucky enough to spend fourth dimension working with expert printmaker Mark Hunter from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design on the intricacies of the waterless lithography technique.
In this commodity, I volition innovate you to the origins of stone lithography, the relatively more than recent developments in waterless lithography and the fundamental differences betwixt the 2. Plus, try your own artwork by following my step-by-step guide.
Stone lithography
Traditional stone lithography was showtime discovered at the end of the 18th century by the German actor and author Alois Senefelder and was used as a commercial arroyo for analogy and reproduction.
In this process, a apartment limestone or metallic plate is sponged using water and rolled with an oil-based ink, which adheres to the grease-loving parts, while the non-image areas are made ink repellent.
Throughout art history, lithography has attracted many fine artists including Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Bonnard, Edvard Munch and Mary Cassatt, to proper noun just a few. The ability to reproduce rich fluid pencil lines and castor marks has fabricated this technique very appealing to draughtsmen and artists over the centuries.
Waterless lithography
Waterless lithography is a relatively recent invention, discovered in 1990 by the Canadian printmaker and jeweller, Nik Seminoff. It was created through a want to develop the procedure using a diverseness of easily obtained household materials including non-paintable silicone, acetone and printer toner.
The process, in its simplest form, is based on the ability of silicone to refuse printing ink. Information technology involves drawing or painting onto an showtime aluminium plate using toner or a h2o-soluble pencil and bonding the prototype to the plate using heat. A sparse layer of silicone solution is so applied to create a non-printable area. The plate is left to cure overnight and the toner is done out using acetone, leaving a ghost-like image which can so be inked upwardly using rubber ink and a brayer (a difficult prophylactic roller). The plate is and then ready for printing using an etching press or by mitt.
What's the difference?
Waterless lithography is less labour intensive, using safer and less-toxic materials than traditional stone lithography, while maintaining many of the desirable characteristics such as fluidity of line, washes, gradation in tone, textures and reticulation (interlacing patters of lines).
Unlike traditional stone lithography, the aluminium plate is calorie-free and can exist easily transported to any location such as a museum or for working en plein air. Withal, until the surface has been bonded to the plate information technology is very fragile and needs to be transported with care.
The process
Referring to sketchbooks is a keen manner to find inspiration in the studio and allows you to play around with composition and colour and revisit unresolved ideas. My Scarlet Lobsters print was inspired by a previous drawing I made on location from a fishing harbour in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. Here is how I made information technology.
Step-by-footstep guide: how to make a painterly impress
ane The initial drawing was fabricated directly onto a prepared aluminium plate which has been degreased and treated with sodium metasilicate, this helps to bond the silicone to the plate added later in the process. It is important to dry the plate quickly equally any streaks left from the sodium could impair the finished print.
2 One time the plate is dry out it is ready for the toner solution to be practical. You can utilize many hands sourced implements to employ the toner including paintbrushes, lollipop sticks and sponges; even a toothbrush can create peachy splatters and specks. The surface of the plate is easily manipulated and can exist washed clean with a damp sponge if you are unhappy with the results. Special pencils chosen Lumocolor by STAEDTLER create fantastic fluid lines with subtle gradation in tone when applied with a low-cal touch.
A Sharpie pen can also be used to create solid lines or areas of colour. Rich, velvety tones are fabricated using concentrated washes of toner, while reticulation can be achieved by adding more water to the toner.
I used large paint brushes and applied a concentrated mix of the toner solution to the plate to create the velvety blackness areas. After it had air dried I worked back into the plate using a lollipop stick to pick out some of the subtle details to the lobster shell. A soluble pencil was used with a wash of water to create the linear shape of the antennas.
three Once happy with the results, a oestrus gun is applied to bond the paradigm to the plate and will become glossy when stock-still. At this bespeak there is still the opportunity to add to the prototype if desired, simply be sure to rut the plate again if so.
4 A solution of non-paintable silicone and white spirit is mixed to the consistency of runny honey and is spread onto the plate using a tissue, the aim is to embrace the whole plate creating a thin film of silicone. Once you are happy that the plate has been evenly covered, buff the surface using a firm sponge wrapped in tissue. The plate should be left overnight to cure in a well-ventilated room. Information technology is important when working with solvents and chemicals to proceed the room well ventilated and clothing gloves and protective eyewear.
v The plate is now ready to be washed out using a tissue and acetone. It is important to keep the tissue well soiled as any abrasive material may impact the frail surface of the plate. Allow the acetone to do all the work. A ghost image will appear and won't be fully visible until the plate is inked up.
vi Use a rubber-based ink such as Van Son Holland. Drag and scrape the ink to create a bead at the top of your workstation unit. Place a sub-plate under the printing plate, which has been coated with silicone to reject the ink from the brayer when it goes over the edge of the plate.
Once you have inked upward the brayer on your drinking glass plate, ringlet information technology on a corner of the silicone plate to test if it rejects the ink. If it does reject the ink then you are set to ink upwards the plate.
It is a good thought to keep changing the direction of the brayer to reach maximum coverage of the image, using a snapping action with the brayer to make clean off whatever unwanted ink on the plate.
7 With the plate inked, we are prepare to print. Polish paper will produce the all-time outcome with this method, such as Zerkal and Fabriano. Information technology is always a expert idea to make a couple of exam prints onto newsprint first to gauge how much ink and force per unit area y'all should utilize.
The awarding of waterless lithography has allowed me to retain an expressive, painterly feel in my piece of work. I would recommend it to anyone wishing to develop their printmaking skills.
This article featured in the March 2017 issue ofArtists & Illustrators magazine. To discover more How to Guides get the latest magazine or observe it in all good newsagents. Plus, browse our online collection.
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In association with Cass Art www.cassart.co.uk
Project by Kim Scouller – world wide web.larascouller.com
Source: https://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/how-to/printmaking/how-to-make-a-painterly-print/
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