Acrylic is a really challenging medium for monotype printmaking work because it dries fast on the plate and hence doesn’t transfer to the paper. One option is to use retarders like OPEN Acrylics and mediums, but I wanted to do monotypes without using retarders, thus limiting myself to painting very quickly on a mylar sheet before transferring it to the paper for printmaking. In fact this process uses the element of patchy drying as a process conceptually similar to erasing.

So here are my monotype printmaking tries with fast-drying acrylics.

For the subject of the first set of experiments, I chose my walks to the neighborhood Palo Alto parks. Here is my first piece out of that effort. I did not use a press for this. On top of the monotype layer, I used colored acrylic pens for sketching, as well as some wood chips for the earthy effect. I like the final output.

This piece is a combination of Acrylic monotype, Op Art, Sketching & Drawing, and adding found object (woodchips).

Image:
Mitun, Stopping by rose bush during a walk at Robles Park at Palo Alto, Acrylic, colored pens, and wood chips on paper, 12″x9″, Nov-19-2021.