Oil Monotype of Dark Purple Iris

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This is an example of the type of monotype that is painted with

diluted oil paints on a zinc plate. I have done many of these in my

life, and with this medium have created some of my favorite

images. It is a fairly demanding medium, because you have to

dilute the paint to just the right consistency; you need to use

Turpentine, which I really can't stand (it gives me migraines,

even though I grew up with it because my mother was a painter

and used it constantly); and to manipulate the image, it has

to be semi-dry, or "set-up" to exactly the right state. At that point

you can take a pointed sable brush that is damp with solvent

and push the paint around on the plate - remove it, shape it,

add more, etc.. Then, it is printed on a dampened and blotted

piece of fine printmaking paper. The wonderful thing about

it is that oil and water don't mix, so that the oil image floats

semi-mysteriously, forever, on the surface of the paper - kind

of like a watercolor - but not. People ask my why I make these

instead of doing watercolors. That is why. They are not the

same in ANY way. You make a lot of losers, but when you make

a keeper, it is like nothing else. This isn't even one of my favorites.

Those are things I will never part with.

Bearded Iris ll

Watercolor, Gouache and Pencil
on Archival WC Paper, 5" x 7" $120.00

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I just couldn't get over all of the colors
in this iris. They were really something.
I was experimenting with Aquapasto
today. A wonderful watercolor teacher
at the Art League School, Tedd Betts,
who passed away a couple of years ago,
told me that you could squegee a thin
layer of this stuff on your paper with
a credit card. He used it to incredible
effect. Particularly in painting trees
in the wintertime. His paintings were
beautiful. It's really a shame he wasn't more
well-known in his lifetime.

Using the medium has its advantages and
drawbacks for an artist. You can completely
lift any paint put over it, and washes can be
laid down next to each other without flowing
into each other, but that's just the thing -
the washes don't really flow at all, and that
can be frustrating. I guess the solution would
be to figure out what effects you want to achieve
before you start, and use the medium where it
would be most effective. Anyway, it is fun to
play around with.