Featured Artist Bruce Waldman was kind enough to join us at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop and walk us through his process for creating a Monoprint or Monotype (see our glossary of terms for clarification). Pictured above are the creative tools necessary; a variety of brayers, palette knives, Gamblin etching inks, rags and textured surfaces. Bruce uses a large plexiglass sheet with white paper taped to the back (to help see your image as you are working).

This is a process that allows you to improvise, work quickly and experiment with techniques and styles. The inks will stay wet and printable for several hours, giving you the opportunity to work for some time on your image before pulling your final print.

Bruce begins, by laying in larger areas of color using a brayer (or roller), then drawing in some of his image using the edges of the roller. A very fine line can be created this way, but it will take some practice to learn how to control the line and get the results you want.

Bruce uses a wide variety of materials, including paper towels and socks, to create texture and pattern in his compositions. Basically anything that will hold and tranfser ink can be used to add a sense of movement or pattern to the plexiglass.

The image can also be created by extracting from the large inked areas using a rag or paper towel, pulling out the highlights and building the image in a new way. One of the great things about this process is the ability to wipe away areas that aren't successful and draw them in again.

A stiff bristled brush can be used to draw on the plexiglass as well. The etching inks are not nearly as workable as oil paints so the effect is more of a scumbling effect than a smooth application of paint. This too takes some practice to get used to but can have excellent results.

Here is the final image as it appears on the plexiglass. You can see the number of techniques employed throughout the process, large areas of ink, drawn line, extraction and brush work. Now it's time to go to print, Bruce is printing on Revere paper, and it should be soaked in a water bath for about 30 minutes before printing.

You don't want your paper to be sopping wet, just a nice light sheen. Lay your plexi on the printmaking blankets, lay your paper on top and cover with another blanket. The best results will come from using a printing press (pictured), many local studios or ateliers will allow you to use the space and equipment for a nominal fee, but a baren or even the back of a wooden spoon can be used to apply pressure to the back of your paper.

Here you can see Bruce checking the print quality. A monoprint (mono meaning "one") gives you only one pull, making each image unique. You can, however, pull a second "ghost" print of the remaining ink on the plate which can give you interesting results as well.

Here is the final result, a very interesting image created using an interesting technique. It's a process that relies heavily on experimentation and results will vary from print to print. As Bruce told the group, he has done this thousands of times and been satisfied with the results only hundreds of times. So don't get discouraged and continue to work until you are satisfied!  

You can see more of Bruce's prints in the Artist Profile section of the Learning Center.

Edition
An edition of a print includes all the impressions published at the same time or as part of the same publishing event. A number of art prints of a certain image, using the same plates, screens or blocks, all the same size and as close to identical as possible.

Artist's Proof
The first set of prints pulled for the artist's own use, are marked as A.P. and may or may not be numbered and are considered by many to be higher in value than the subsequent numbered edition prints. Sometimes marked E.A. (French, epreuve d' artiste) or PA (Italian, Prova d'Autore) instead of A.P.

Intaglio
An intaglio print is one whose image is printed from a recessed design incised or etched into the surface of a plate. In this type of print the ink lies below the surface of the plate and is transferred to the paper under pressure, most often with a press. The printed lines of an intaglio print stand in relief on the paper.

Engraving
Lines are incised into a copper plate with a burin. The curls of copper thrown up at the sides of the furrow are cleaned away with a scraper.

Etching
A metal plate is coated with a ground that is impervious to acid. The artist creates an image by drawing through the ground with an etching needle, thus exposing areas of metal. The whole plate is then immersed in acid until the exposed lines are sufficiently bitten, producing grooves in the metal that will hold the ink. The ground is then removed, and the plate is ready to be inked and printed.

Relief
A relief print is one whose image is printed from a design raised on the surface of a block. In this type of print the ink lies on the top of the block and is transferred to the paper under light pressure. Transferred often by small presses or by hand using a baren.

Monoprint
Ink or paint applied onto an already worked plate. Although a matrix is present, real editions are really impossible to carry out, but some element of the print is repeatable. Subsequent "ghost" prints can be pulled, with varying results.

Monotype
Ink or paint is applied to a smooth plate. Because there is no fixed matrix, only one strong impression can be printed. No element of the print is truly repeatable. Subsequent "ghost" prints can be pulled, with varying results.

Printmaking Tools:

Plate
A plate is a flat sheet of metal, usually copper, steel or zinc, used as a matrix for a print. Metal plates are used for intaglio prints and for some lithographs. Plexiglass plates can also be used to create monoprint and monotype prints.

Block
A block is a cutable surface used as a matrix for a print. Blocks can be made from mounted or unmounted linoleum, various woods or easy to cut rubbery materials.

Baren
A Japanese designed tool with a smooth flat bottom and woven handle used to apply pressure to the back of paper when creating block prints.

Brayer
Roller (often rubber) used to apply ink to plates and blocks. Available in a wide variety of sizes.

Lino Cutter
Tool or number of tools with assorted V-shaped gouges used for carving linoleum or wooden blocks for printmaking.

Ground
A varnish-like substance, impervious to acid used to prepare a plate in the engraving process.

Scriber
A metal hand tool sharpened to a point used to draw on a prepared plate to create an etching.

Burin
From the french for "cold chisel" a burin is a tool used in the engraving process. Sometimes called a graver, it has a rounded mushroom-shaped handle with a steel shaft and sharp chisel tip.  

Bruce Waldman exhibits extensively in New York City and beyond. He has been teaching at the School of Visual Arts for more than 25 years, is a member of The Board of Govenors of the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, and a Director of The New York Society of Etchers. His prints are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Library of Congress, Smithsonion Institution, Washington DC, The Royal Collection, London, The Hackley Museum of Art in Michigan, The Housatonic Museum of Art in Connecticut, and The New York Transit Museum.
 
Mr Waldman illustrated the cover for the 1990 national best seller "Iron John", by Robert Bly, along with the cover monoprint for "Primate Behavior" the 1997 finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry by Sara Lindsey, and won the Silver Medal in the Book category for the 45th annual of The Society of Illustrators in 2004.

Bruce recently ran a Utrecht-sponsored event at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in New York City. His lecture was excellent and to see him work was facinating. Click here to see Bruce working step by step on a unique monotype.

Below are some examples of Bruce's work. Click here to visit his website.