50 quick monotype landscapes

Gelatin plate print / /

abstract monotype landscape by linda germain

I am playing with a few tools:

  • gelatin and glycerin plate
  • speedball ink
  • brayers
  • bristle brushes
  • palette knife
  • old credit card
  • sponge mop head
  • index cards

Very quickly I printed about 50 monotype landscapes.


 quick landscapes with the gelatin plate

It was a great exercise in composition and design.

printed abstract landscape

This one above is created with horizontal brayer marks.

abstract landscape printed with the gelatin plate

This one is brayer mark mountains and the sky was created with a wide bristle brush.

simplified monoprinted landscape

This one has some light underlying mountain marks. I used an old credit card to create the horizon lines and foreground marks.

If you would like to join us in class, check out the online printmaking classes being offered.

 

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Matisse says, “Creativity takes Courage.”

inspiration / /

I think as artists we can forget how brave we are!

More quotes from Matisse can be found here.

So I encourage you to recognize how brave you are today! Take stock and make a list of your brave actions:

I am a brave artist when I:

  1. suspend self judgement
  2. put my work out there
  3. ask for a sale
  4. am willing to make ugly prints
  5. set it aside and come back with fresh eyes
  6. tear it up and repurpose a piece
  7. take a class in a new media
  8. combine techniques in my own way

Come on make your list!

 

 

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Use your phone to capture inspiration

inspiration / /

Sometimes ideas and inspiration just come you. Use your phone to capture those thoughts.

The easiest way to capture ideas is to take a picture. Even if it is not a beautiful photo is can capture the essence as a reference for a stencil or a painting or art process.

use your phone to capture inspiration

Another way I use my phone is to write a note to myself. Then I can come back to the notes later.

A third way that I save inspiration is to record sounds. Sometimes I just want remember that feeling that is created by the crashing waves or babbling brook.

Then turn that inspiration into art making action.

inspired landscape

 

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Use what you learn in class

monotype print / /

I get super motivated by taking classes. I dive in and try to learn as much as I can.  I must confess, I even pre-learn, research and test out techniques before class even starts.

This year I took a ModernMarbling class, with CynthiaMcGuirl.

modern marbleized paper by linda germain

Then I enjoyed a Japanese woodblock printing class this with artist and teacher Lisa Houck.

abstract woodblock prints by linda germain

A dropped in on a couple of figure drawing sessions at Essex Art Center.

figure drawing class linda germain

And most recently, I participated in the online class Translating Landscapes, with Antia Lehmann.

abstract landscape by linda germain

Sometimes that the prints that I make in these classes just get filed away or tossed durning my next purging session.  But the process is what I keep.

The process of:

  • developing dynamic images
  • learning to think differently
  • fix problems/mistakes in new ways
  • identifying my strengths and interests

I hope to bring those ideas and more back to my own practice.

So as the most recently landscape class ends I played with new tools and the gelatin plate to make some abstract landscapes. I am pretty pleased.

abstract landscape monotype print by linda germain

If you are like me and need an art class, then check out the current online classes being offered.

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Make your own low tack tape

mark making tools / /

One of my mottos is:

Use what you have.

I still have the urge to go out and buy new supplies. But sometimes I have the ability to resist that urge.

abstract landscape by linda germain

Recently I have been taping down paper for some watercolor play.

thumbnail paintings of landscapes by linda germain

One of the projects called for very thin masking tape that could be removed from the paper without ripping the paper.

masking tape for taping down water color paper

I had some cheap blue painters tape from the dollar tree store. So you know it is not as good as the 3M version.

The trick to making it less sticky is to stick it to your pants, apron or cutting mat a few times before you use to tape down your paper.

This method has been working for me for a couple of weeks. I even cut the 2″ tape into 1/4″ strips to do these thumbnail studies. I was surprised how easy it was.

cut wide tape to size to mask paper for watercolor painting

I do remove the tape very carefully and watch for paper tears.  If the paper starts to tear, I gently remove the tape from another direction.

thumbnail watercolor studies of trees

Enjoy!

 

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