monotypes
Several years ago I learnt monotype printmaking with Melbourne artist Wayne Viney. Monotypes are made by covering an acrylic plate with oil paint, then wiping back with cloth to create lighter and white areas. This plate is then run through a press using dampened paper.
I see the monotypes as a departure from my pastel drawing work into a medium which is half painting, half drawing. Rubbing back into thin layers of oil paint gives greater scope for translucency, depth and range of tonal values.
I began this series as simple depictions of light on human anatomy, then the work seemed to move itself into abstraction. I began to create images distilled in my memory from working for several years with a Butoh dancer, Gretel Taylor. From this work I created a series of monotypes which I see as illuminated fragments of her performances.
