Solar plate etching monotype at London Print Studio

I think my favorite printmaking studio has to be London Print Studio in London, England. This was my 2nd residency there and by far my most productive. Unlike most residencies, this one doesn’t offer accommodation, sadly. I’m lucky that I have friends I stay with in London, as my residency was 2 weeks long (and would be an expensive stay if you are paying for hotels). They also offer great printmaking workshops which was how I first learned the technique of Solar Plate Etching several years ago

This is one of my favorite of the solar plate etchings I did at London Print Studio last month. I first did a painting in black acrylic on clear Mylar. The watery image on the bottom was a photo image of a drawing I did, which I then printed on to another sheet of clear Mylar. I exposed the solar plate (aka photopolymer plate) with the 2 sheets of mylar layered to combine the images.

Once I had prepared the plate, I inked it up with black ink, wiping clean the surface. Then to add more color, I rolled on first the olive green and then the aqua ink. This created a monotype so that each finished print is unique in it’s own way.

The finished image is 10" x 8" on Fabriano archival paper.