Testing, Part Three

Continuing the story of the past two weeks, we've now gotten to the third test print. In the first week, I showed you a print where the representational drawing was deemphasized in favor of the color and texture of the monotypes.

Last week, I showed you a print where I did the opposite, giving the drawing greater emphasis:

This week, I'll show you the print that combines both elements.

I started by doing a background drawing in pencil, mostly because my micronpen was dried out and I was curious to see how gray looked instead of black. Instead of drawing the flower, however, I did an all-over abstract pattern based on its leaves, to give the work a sense of underlying movement.

From there, I repeated the same process of covering the drawing with several monotypes, the first two being brushed on, the last two including sponges and other textures. I was less subtle with my brushing this time around, resulting in more pronounced textures.

After the monotypes were dry, I drew the flower, again using pen and ink. I was more subtle with my modeling this time around, as I felt they were too extreme in the last drawing.

Once again, I felt the emphasis definitely changed. Whereas last week's print emphasized the flower, this one feel closer to the prints I did for Shelburne Farms, with the eye alternating between different layers. The flower is still prominent, but not as dominating as it is in the other work, especially with the more pronounced texture in the monotypes. I also like how the all-over pattern is subtle, but still discernible beneath the layers of ink, suggesting that there is an underlying structure or movement to the work. 

Regardless of what I do, each work has its own potential, and could make for an interesting series in its own right. It's all a matter of what I feel should be emphasized. Knowing me, I'll probably end up using the third option, but we'll see.