Mixed Media Printmaking Blog

Letting sketchbooks evolve

combined techniques, drawings, mark making, sketchbook ideas / Linda Germain / August 28, 2024

I have been working in 6 sketchbooks at once for the last few weeks. I started working this way so I could let wet marks dry and still be in the flow.

I do like having multiple books going at once but it can get a bit scattered too. So I started using a theme and that seemed to help the mark making flow.

Some of the “themes” that I have used:

draw 30 trees
add 20 flowers
fill in with birds

This gave me a goal that I could work across several sketchbooks at once. These 3 subjects were easy to add to my existing marks.

Most recently I have been playing with stylized horses. These drawings are a work in progress. It is a challenge to work through ugly renderings. I find I like the simple loose line drawings best. A horse sketch needs more of a whole page compared to birds, flowers and trees.

If you are looking for a little sketchbook inspiration and instruction then check out the self-study online classes available now.

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Dig out your art books

sketchbook ideas / Linda Germain / August 23, 2024

I usually get my books from the library. But I do have a few that I purchased.

Today I pulled out a few in search for sketchbook inspiration. I got a few ideas right away and did not get through the whole stack. So I encourage you to gather a few art books that have been on the shelf for a while and flip through them for fresh ideas.

Poetry

I was reminded that I like to do black out poems and collage poems.

I am not sure I should even call them “poems”. They are a collection of words that moved me and they may not make sense. But they are fun to do.

I like to do black out poems in large print books. It is easier to highlight the words.

REX RAY

inspired collage was project number 2 that I chose to do. I really love his early magazine collage project.

I like the simple shapes and non-precious material. I think the sheer volume of his collages is part of the impact. I did a couple of simple collages. I tried to embrace the less is more approach.

So I encourage you to gather a few art books and look for sketchbook ideas. And as soon as you have one idea stop looking through the books and execute the idea. Jump right into action. Or you can check out the classes that I have available as self-study. Enjoy!

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Get the most from your drawings

drawings / Linda Germain / August 15, 2024

Lately I have been using my older sketchbooks as reference for drawings in my current sketchbooks. This works well for me since I don’t love to draw and often I am searching for a subject.

In the example above I simply glued in a photocopy of the original sketch. I printed it on cream colored paper.

I this second example I drew a fresh copy of the original sketchbook entries. I am not aiming for exact duplicates, just inspired replicas.

But I am most excited to share with you the tea bag and sharpie process that I used above. I get 2 new “originals” for the effort of one.

My reference drawing is then in the middle with pink cheeks.
I layered and taped the tea bag to the small piece of white drawing paper.
Then drew the face with a black sharpie.
The sharpie bleeds through, with varies intensity to the white paper and
I get the second copy for free!

A couple of tips:

Use an ultra fine tip sharpie or a fine tip for bolder marks
Don’t pause or you will get heavy spots of ink
Add color after
Use fresh tea bag for a white drawing

Check out the current classes available online.

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Make unique fabric for your projects

fabric prints, gelatin prints on fabric, monotype print / Linda Germain / August 6, 2024

I have piles of hand printed fabric. I have actually stopped making more until I use up some of what I already have.

I have made a few quilts and now have more quilts than I can use.

I covered some bricks with hand printed cloth to use as book weights. I do use these quite a bit and I think 6 big book weights is enough for my little studio.

I used heat-n-bond to transform some of the monoprinted fabric into book cloth. The heat-n-bond is applied to the fabric then thin rice paper is stuck to the other side. This creates a barrier so the glue does not seep through the fabric. Then I covered a few artists books.

I love composition notebooks. I covered a few with the hand printed fabric.

I love bags. I am definitely a bag lady. And yet surprisingly I have only stitched up one little shoulder bag. I think a big beach bag may be my next project.

If you are wanting to make some unique hand printed fabric, then check out the workshop, Monoprinted Fabric.

I am offering a 25% discount on this class for the next few weeks. It is a comprehensive class with 12 different techniques for gelatin printing on fabric.

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Try Gelatin printing on Fabric

gelatin prints on fabric / Linda Germain / August 2, 2024

I first gel printed on paper and loved the detailed impressions that I was able to capture.

Then I started to experiment with printing on fabric. Quickly I realized that I needed to adjust my approach and techniques.

The first thing I changed was the inks. I have experimented with a lot of inks and paints and choose to use screen printing ink.

Another adaptation was to work on dampened fabric to encourage the transfer of ink.

Then I had to adjust my expectations and embrace the unique nature of the process. I found that I could pick up adjunct types of marks that were not directly from the gelatin plate. I was learning to make the most of the process.

That is why I put together the Monoprint Fabric, online course. It is a comprehensive class that includes 12 different techniques.

This class is for you if you want to create a stash of one of a kind fabric for your sewing projects.

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