“City’s Edge”
16” x 20”
Clay Monoprint, Watercolor, Watercolor Pencil, and Acrylic
Andrew Smith / Visual Realia Studio

Due to the relatively short history of clay monoprints as a medium, creating one always feels like an experiment. This is particularly true as I try to see how the prints interact with other mediums.

Clay slip without pigment is an off-white, somewhere between grey and white. Unfortunately, one limitation of clay monoprints is the difficulty in getting a true white or a deep, rich black. I set out to use both via acrylic paints in this work.

To offset the dark city, nature speaks up colorfully in the foreground.

In both instances, the shapes and colors were present in the print, but I sought to emphasize what the monoprint brought. The use of watercolors and watercolor pencils helped with enhancing color. The monoprint, acrylic, and watercolors each bring subtle textural differences, as well.

Most monoprint images I share here are “cropped” to show only what will be visible once framed. In the photo immediately above, I thought it would be instructive to show the entire surface of the print before framing. The edges with less color can be caused by the wooden matrix (clay slab) frame or the taped edge where I intended to end the print. These areas will be trimmed or hidden by the frame.