The Art of the Monoprint - The Process

A monoprint is a single print created by transferring an image that has been painted onto a plate and transferred to paper. I love the process of monoprinting. It is a spontaneous technique that lends itself to experimenting with a wide variety of materials, papers, transfer techniques and plates.

The plate is the surface you paint on. Traditionally, plates include metal, wood, glass and plexi, to name a few. Up until I discovered gelatin plates (or Gelli Arts® plates which is the manufactured gelatin plate) I used a piece of plexi for my plate. Please note that permission was received to use the Gelli® or Gelli Arts® trademark, which is owned by Gelli Arts® LLC).

My process involves rolling ink onto the plate with a brayer. Or, applying paint to the plate and building layers through multiple transfers. The transfer of the image from the plate to the paper is done by hand, or with a press. By layering stencils, creating textures from everyday objects and masking out areas of the plate, the image quickly takes shape. To complete the monoprint I often incorporate pastels, paint or glue on torn papers and materials to the print. Continuing to develop it with free and spontaneous methods until I feel that the print is done.