Monotypes

Monotypes are unique prints done using the technology of fine art printing, usually printed using an etching press or a lithographic press.  The plate can be metallic or even Plexiglas though ways and means abound.  Basically a plate is inked with a roller and then the paper placed on it and run through the intense pressure of the press, thus transferring the ink to the paper.  Images can also be painted on the plate and then transferred to the paper.  Multiple inkings and figuration can produce richly hued prints with a character all their own.

Though I own an etching press and have done monotypes by myself, I prefer working with a Master Printer because they know the parameters of the medium and can be of great help in printing a particular image in the best possible ways.  Over the years I’ve worked with Master Printers Peter Webb of Austin, Texas and Mark Anderson, then at the University of Corpus Christi in Texas.  I have also worked with Nancy Palmeri at the University of Texas Arlington and with excellent printer Ann Chamberlin, then of Austin, Texas.  These sessions produced the monotype prints shown in this section.

I take different approaches to my work in various mediums appropriate to different themes, some more scripted than others, but doing monotypes has given me the opportunity of working in free-form, improvisational ways and the results have been very rewarding.  Most were done with Peter Webb which culminated in a mutual dream coming true.  In 1997, I was chosen to do a residency at Artpace in San Antonio, which funded an extended monotype session over several days that produced over seventy monotypes and were, for me, the best part of the residency exhibition.  In the near future I hope to do some, probably on my own, stay tuned….