Encaustic Printmaking An Introduction to Encaustic Monotypes

Today is the first day of the Fifth International Encaustic Conference in Provincetown. Provincetown’s Commercial Street is a colourful narrow one-way street with more pedestrians, bikes, and pedicabs then cars lined with shops, restaurants and galleries. Provincetown is wonderful!

Monotype Marathon Session

I attended the Monotype Marathon and experienced monotype printmaking in person for the first time through three back-to-back sessions with artists demonstrating their encaustic printing techniques.

1. Dorothy Furlong-Gardner who pioneered encaustic monotype thirty-five years ago, gave an inspiring introduction to wax prints
2. David A. Clark demonstrated monotype stencilling, and
3. Kathleen Lemoine demonstrated adapting monotype for wood panels and objects.

The History of Encaustic Monotype Printing with Dorothy (Dottie) Furlong-Gardner

As a printmaker, Dorothy was doing monotypes in the traditional method of transferring oil-based inks on paper with the use of an etching press. She began experimenting to combine the directness and immediacy of the monotype with the richness and luminosity of encaustic painting. The result was the first “Encaustic Monotype” a process that eliminated all the toxicity of inks and solvents of printmaking in the traditional way on a press.

Encaustic Monotype Printmaking Demonstration

Dorothy Furlong-Gardner demonstrated:

• how to use a hot box to create a monotype print,
• positive and negative prints,
• ghost prints,
• cognates (a 2nd generation print from a print on the plate),
• prints made from multiple pulls and
• registering the paper so it is in the same place each time it is placed on the hot box surface.

It was an honour to learn the process directly from Dottie herself.

Monoprint Stencils with David A. Clark

With a flamboyant style, David demonstrated using stencils in encaustic printmaking. He outlined four variables in monotype printmaking:

1. heat,
2. paint,
3. paper and
4. pressure

It’s important to understand that if you change one of these variables then you may need to make adjustments to others as well. If you use a different paper you may need more paint, a higher temperature, less pressure.

David cuts his stencils from Dura-Lar acetate although any heat-resistant acetate will work. David uses paints from different vendors and highlighted a number of his favourite colours.

Adapting Monotype to Wood Panels and Objects with Kathleen Lemoine

Kathleen used a wooden panel that she got from Jane’s Frames in the Vendor room. She put puddles of encaustic medium on the hotbox and pulled the panel in the medium. She works at the edge or the hot box a lot. You don’t need to fuse again, the hotbox is doing the fusing as the medium is picked up. In addition to wood panels Kathleen demonstrated printing using cubes of wood. You can work directly on untreated wood panels but Kathleen likes to treat with gesso first. She spoke about the new holy grail colored gesso‘s from Evans Encaustics.

Ready to start Monotype printmaking

This was a great introduction to wax printmaking. I think it would be exciting to give encaustic monotype printing a try but before I purchase a HOTbox, I’m going to have a look at an Anodized Aluminum Plate from Encaustikos which converts a pancake griddle into a printing plate.