“A printmaker without a press is a painter,” Columbus artist Pamela Feldman-Hill (M.A. 1985, The Ohio State University) once said to me.
Feldman-Hill, whose paintings and prints have been exhibited nationally, is an expert printmaker. You can learn more about her at www.feldman-hill.com.
I think that printmakers can shift to painting better than many painters to printmaking. A print studio requires space and equipment often far beyond the reach of most artists. Monotypes, however, provide a simple but very interesting way artists can execute prints in their studios.
A metal plate, or a sheet of tempered glass or plastic, can serve as the vehicle that the artist uses to apply and removes inks and, often, oil paints. Paper is carefully placed on the plate, which can be run through a press or printed by hand.
While Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917) did much to create interest in monotypes in the 19th Century, the printing of monotypes dates back to the 1600s.
Maurice Prendergast (American, 1858–1924) has been cited as a “post-impressionist” and an “early modern.” He exhibited with artists such as Robert Henri, but he always followed his own path.
“Prendergast was additionally one of the first Americans to espouse the work of Paul Cézanne (French 1839-1906) and to understand and utilize his expressive use of form and color,” Prendergast scholar Nancy Mowll Mathews wrote in her 1990 exhibition catalog Maurice Prendergast.
Prendergast’s early work was mostly in watercolor and monotype, and he produced more than 200 monotypes between 1895 and 1902. Shipyard: Children Playing (1900-02, monotype, 20 centimeters by 25.3 centimeters) features the mosaic-like break-up of forms and color, and the keen sense of composition for which Prendergast is celebrated for today.
Monotypes: Painterly Prints, in which Prendergast’s work is featured, is at the Cleveland Museum of Art through Oct. 11. Also consider checking out Fresh Prints: The Nineties to Now, on display through July 26.
In Columbus, we are blessed with a first-class printmaking studio at the Phoenix Rising Printmaking Collective (www.phoenixrisingprintmaking.com), which celebrates its 17th anniversary this year.
Phoenix Rising’s artist members offer a variety of workshops and classes that highlight their particular skills, and guest artists are invited to give special presentations. You and your friends can try your hand at “Happy Hour Monotypes,” just one of the many classes to introduce one to this interesting aspect of printmaking.
Nationally renowned local artist Michael McEwan teaches painting and drawing classes at his Clintonville area studio.
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