Lesley Trussler

Carol Nunan of Carol’s Original Prints has requested that printmakers post a “how to” on their blog about monotypes.

A monotype is a kind of one-off print, I think of it as a drawing with printing ink. I can get bogged down in the technical aspects of printmaking – of perfecting the ‘process’, and this is a way of freeing up ideas and mark-making. Drawing, but you get all the lovely qualities of a print through the transfer of ink to paper.

My printmaking table is a heavy piece of tempered glass on trestles, (bought from Ikea).

To create a monotype I tape a sketch on the underside of the glass so it shows through and then roll out oil based printing ink on the upper surface of the table. I use oil based ink because it stays wet for so long and I have a lot of time to work on the image.

Using various scrapers, one of those silicon tipped ‘colour shapers’, bits of plastic and metal, rags and cotton buds, I remove the ink, or push it about. Sometimes flinging white spirit around or flicking it on with a toothbrush. I also add ink with a brush, toothbrush or sometimes a bit of cut down cork.

Putting paper down over the image and pressing with a baren, or my second favourite tool, the back of a smooth plastic salad spoon, I transfer the ink to the paper.

I am currently favouring a thinnish ‘ho-sho’ paper, which picks up the ink really well but am also messing about with working on a card with a very smooth almost shiney surface which because it is so robust, allows me to then work back into the image directly onto the paper.

A little lino cut of Winter Trees
225mm x 100mm

In Barcelona last year I went into the perfume museum, this print resulted from the sketches and photos I took there.

Lino etched with caustic soda. 2 colour reduction print.
Edition of 8
210 x 582 mm
£100.00 plus p&p (unframed)

Also, for anybody in or near Bristol this weekend, I’m showing my prints at InBristol Salisbury street studios. 11 – 12th October 2008.
Showcasing over 30 artists and makers as well as gallery, children’s activities, art workshops and an open air art and craft market.

Lino Print
cut with traditonal tools, my Dremel and etched with Caustic Soda
Edition of 25
120 x 235mm
£55 (unframed) + p&p

I spent a wonderful few days drawing in the gardens at Great Dixter early in the summer.
Lino Print
110 x 130mm
Limited Edition of 25
£45.00 (unframed) plus p+p

We’re packing up to leave Toulouse and return to the UK so all is chaos.

Meanwhile I thought I’d post my method of registration for multi coloured oil based lino prints.

With strong double sided tape, I stick two strips of thin but strong card onto the back of the plate. This allows me to hold the lino above the paper and line up corners and edges pretty perfectly. Clean strips of waste paper laid at edges also allows me to rest my grubby fingertips on the paper if I need to without soiling my printing paper. For a large plate I position the card on opposite corners.

The oil based ink has enough tack to allow me to press down, turn the whole lot over and print as usual without the paper slipping.

Thin card is essential as it allows me to roll on the ink on without any disruption to the surface.
And the biro scribble at the top reminds me which way is up.

I’ve tried registering the paper over the block with all sorts of guides and jigs, but it just doesn’t work for me.

colour Lino Cut. 21 x 28cm. Edition of 10.

3 colour reduction Lino Print. 16 x 23cm. Edition of 10

I love this technique, but please be aware that Caustic Soda is highly toxic and corrosive, and will not only etch your lino but also, given the chance, skin, flooring, painted or varnished surfaces and textiles.

So, I wear thick rubber gloves, an apron and eye protection. I protect surfaces with newspaper, open windows or work outside.

The mix can be applied straight onto the lino for a very free and painterly effect, though I usually ‘stop-out’ areas which I dont want to etch. I paint on a thick black stop-out normally used in the etching process, made by Charbonnel called Lamour Black Covering Varnish, sometimes scratching back into it with a sharp knife. Drawing with candle wax or waxy pastels/crayon will also work though the caustic soda will eat through anything not applied thickly enough. It always eats through in some places but that’s part of the excitement of this very unpredictable, textural method.

Once the stop-out is dry, I put on gloves, eye protection and apron, put newspaper down. Taking a glass jam jar, I fill it about a third full of water, sprinkle in a couple of teaspoons of dry wallpaper paste flakes into the water and mix. Leave for 3 or 4 minutes until it thickens. Now I carefully pour in about 2 teaspoons* of caustic soda granules and stir with a wooden stick.

*I dont use anything metal in this process as the caustic soda reacts with many metals. Always start with the water and add the caustic soda to it. Read the instructions on the back of your caustic soda container – it will give you the safety procedure.

The mixture will heat up and give off fumes.
If any gets on your skin then it really burns. Wash immediately with lots and lots of water. Vinegar will also apparently neutralise the process.

Using the stick I apply the now thick gloopy mixture to my lino. Wait 2o-30 mins.

Washing off the plate under a hot tap using a toothbrush to clean the surface thoroughly, I take care not to splash the mixture back at myself or at the surroundings. Pat dry with newspaper. I then wash any unwanted mixture down the plug hole with copius amounts of hot water.

The depth of etch will vary depending somewhat on the strength of the mix, the age/type of your lino, and the temperature. A test strip using different resist methods, and timings helps to establish what might happen.

As you can see, 5 mins hardly etches at all, but does give an all over texture, and 60 mins bites very deeply so there is much more contrast.

Remove your stop-out, the black varnish comes off with white spirit. Candle wax can mostly be scraped off and the remainder melted off with layers of brown paper and a just warm iron

Print plate as per usual. Repeat for reduction print.

Any large expanse of etched lino will still pick up ink as the paper is pushed down into the etched area, especially when hand printing using a barren, but this can be used for good effect. You can deliberately push the paper down onto the plate to pick up ink.

The caustic soda etch just gives such beautiful texture, and it’s easy with a japanese baren or the end of a spoon to push the paper down into the ink where ever you want a little more colour.