Sneak in a Little #Cre8time... Ombré Monoprinting Technique by Susan M. Brown {sbartist}

Hello Amazing Crafters! Susan here sharing some monoprinting... mixed-media painting technique that virtually ANYONE can do – anywhere! Monoprinting gives me a painting fix and at the same time I can enjoy the randomness of creative play and make some fabulous backgrounds for other projects.

Just some of my monoprinting tools... all created with Amazing Mold Rubber. I have created many AMAZING DIY No Gelatin Rubber Plates in various shapes and sizes – pouring them in empty plexiglass frames and recycled crafty packaging. CLICK HERE to jump over and view how I created these. The Amazing Mold Rubber is more stiff and dense than the standard Gelli Arts® version, though it's much more durable.

Over my experience of creating these and trying out different monoprinting plates you can buy – you don't need to make them so thick to get the same results. Some of my earlier slabs are about 1/2" thick. I've since made some in recycled packaging that aren't thicker than 1/4" thick.

Don't forget... backsides of your molds can be a perfect slab for monoprints! A lot of my molds are round shaped, too. One side I can use the shapes/voids of mold as a mark maker and the other side is completely flat and perfect for a monoprinting palette {CLICK HERE to view examples of monoprinting with my round molds}.

I selected my ATC size plate that I use this for arting on the go. It's about 3" x 4" in size.

One of my favorite monoprinting techniques is an Ombré painted background. Hard to do when painting traditionally – but this is super quick and easy with a monoprinting plate and a brayer. This background is a great start for building up layers of texture and pattern... one pull at a time!

I begin by applying three colors of Ranger Adirondack acrylic paints {Lettuce, Bottle and Stream}. These have a metallic sheen and dry super fast - so these have been designated to my arting-on-the-go box. I also have a few recycled items at the ready for mark making and adding patterns as I go.

Using the brayer, I roll horizontally back and forth a few times to blend colors nicely. Areas that are a bit wetter create interesting resist areas... random is always good!

I gently press the a sheet of recycled book paper onto the paint and rub overall. This is where your hands get messy... in a fun way!

Gently peel back the paper and set aside to dry. 

Some paint will stay behind. This is good – monoprinting is all about layering. I love how the Ombré came out... but it's a bit bright and a nice beginning. I'm going to add another layer to add texture and tone the bright colors down.

I added some white Picket Fence Distress Paint and brayered across the entire plate – right on top of the dried leftover color from the last step. Don't waste that paint! Excess paint on the brayer is transferred onto a blank page in a recycled book which is now a growing art journal.

Since  the Distress Paint is more fluid, it stays wet a bit longer. I let it sit for a minute or two and press a cork repeatedly to make some interesting organic shapes.

Then I press my original Ombré background on top to add a second layer. Rub... rub... rub... then peel to reveal the magic! I had tried to make a pattern with a recycled pill blister pack and that resulted in few marks - but I did press the packaging on top like a stamp to remove the paint. This added several brighter white coffee bean shaped areas.

I'm really happy with this background, so I stop here and continue my monoprinting play and make some more ATC starters.

A TRIO of budding ATCs...

Monoprinting is quite addictive. Out of my short time playing {about a 1/2 an hour}... I have created a half dozen painted ATC book page backgrounds, and started backgrounds of several pages in a recycled day-timer book from cleaning paints off my brayer. It's so much fun!

What do you create with

your monoprinted papers?

Thanks for visiting! If you would like to see more of my creations,

please visit my blog sbartist : painting in the dark by clicking here. ~ Susan

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Don't forget to subscribe to our blog on the right side bar:

Twitter at AmazingCasting | Facebook at AmazingMoldPutty | YouTube at AmazingMoldPutty