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Well it’s actually the day after Print Day here in Adelaide, but we’d said we would devote the whole weekend to Print Day so I took Saturday off and rolled up today to do my global duty. I was joined by Wendy Rushby and Mei Sheong Wong, still jetlagged after a residency in Hawaii, but raring to contribute to our little show and tell.

I started experimenting with monotypes, using water washup inks.  I decided not to use a press, determined to see what I could produce with a piece of glass, a pair of rollers and thin litho paper. I had scanned Peter Drew’s famous print and printed it out on a reduced scale, ready to collage into my composition. First I mixed some Akua brown with Createx violet, and thought I’d got a reasonable effect.

The resulting print wasn’t so great, so after a few more experiments I found that a larger proportion of Akua in the mix made a stronger print, while using Createx black on the darker dog in a second print gave a more three dimensional effect. Here’s the final print.

You’ll notice the dogs have evolved a bit since the first attempt – they look more satisfyingly bedraggled and mutt-like. Still a way to go – this might turn into a woodcut. Thanks to Peter Drew for the inspiration!

Meanwhile, Wendy Rushby was printing multiple solarplates. These are just two beautiful examples:

And Mei Sheong Wong put her laser etched MDF block though the press without inking it – I’m not sure which is more beautiful, the wood block or the wood stained paper!

This is a glimpse of our working studio, plenty of room to spread yourself and relax with a cup of tea afterwards!