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Monthly Archives: April 2016

Intuitive Drawing and Transferred Line

April 26, 2016

Intuitive drawings can be made with any drawing media. At a workshop held on 23rd April at Norden Farm Centre for the Arts Maidenhead, our focus was on transferred line drawing using a similar technique to Paul Klee. We kept to the idea of trusting our intuition to develop the drawings rather than having an end image in sight at the beginning of each visual ‘journey’. Some very imaginative works resulted. All images presented are of students and their prints made at the workshop.

2016 intuitive drawing comp 1

We began by inking up a piece of light weight paper evenly but thinly and laid this on top of the printing paper. Another piece of lightweight paper may be placed over this and drawn on so that the line is transferred to the sheet of printing paper below, using a ball point pen or stylus. Sharp pencils pressed hard can tear the paper. The line is similar to a dry point line, and if printed through on to heavy cartridge or watercolour paper, when the printing ink is dry, the drawing may be used as a wax resist for watercolour. Often the print is most beautiful left as it is or perhaps with a small area of colour. Paul Klee used a similar method for his ink and watercolour drawings.2016 intuitive drawing david comp

Drawing on the back of the inked up paper may be done spontaneously or a drawing may be prepared beforehand and traced. As long as the paper is thin this may be placed over the inked up paper and traced through. Another way, so that the original drawing is preserved and to allow experimentation with the same motif is to make a photocopy of the original drawing, ink up and trace through. Best results are when the tracing of the design is not done too laboriously so that some spontaneity of line results.2016 intuitive drawing maria

We also obtained excellent results by inking up Rhenalon plates thinly but evenly. Laying lightweight cartridge or printing paper on top and drawing on the paper. Both for the ‘paper plate’ method or by placing the paper to be printed on directly on to the plate, areas of tone can be achieved by hand pressure and using less pointed softer implements for drawing. Only plastic implements and cardboard were used for these drawings so that the plates were not scratched.

2016 intuitive drawing alvina comp

In the afternoon we used the Rhenalon plates to make monoprints and incorporated hand torn or cut coloured papers into the prints. Again we had no conception of the end result of our intuitive process when we began each composition.2016 intuitive drawing mono 12016 intuitive drawing mono2Many thanks to all who took part so enthusiastically and produced some very beautiful and some very funny prints!

2016 intuitive drawing elaine

See also;

Previous Blog Post: Destination Unknown a Journey into Intuitive drawing June 15 2015

Artists and illustrators Magazine Feb. 2009 Issue 270 page 66/67;

Jo Hall; Transferred Line: A Revelation

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