With the supermarket shopping and other domestic chores out of the way I was free this afternoon to continue my experiments with mono-prints. I managed five new experiments, one with an attempt to print with two colours on the same image. That is probably a bit beyond me at the moment, but I don’t think that I’m kidding myself when I say that my control over the medium is improving.
One trouble with this technique is that the slightest impression on the working surface is transmitted immediately and with no possibility of correction to the final image. Whereas in many other situations it is possible to rest a hand (or even just a finger) on the working surface, as a steadying support, that is definitely out in this case. As a consequence there is a premium on disciplined control of the hand. Another difficulty results from the fact that I have yet to learn to judge accurately the character of the line that will actually be produced. It does appear to be the case that marks that feel very tentative and light as they are made turn out to be far more definite and strong than intended. As a consequence my experimental attempt to do an image of a rose ended up looking far more chunky and clunky than I had hoped. (The two attempts at landscape were more successful.)
While working this afternoon the idea came into my head that making a mono-print is the artistic equivalent of doing Tai-chi–delicate, controlled and supremely mindful. It is probably good for me even if I don’t become good at it. I shall persevere!
Incidentally: while working in the studio this afternoon I glanced up at a piece I did in 2016, hanging above the desk. It has been there for some time now, but only today did I notice that it would feel so much more complete, and its significance would be so much more apparent, with the addition of a single short line. It is not only in relation to mono-printing that attention to detail matters.