Nude w/ stockings

Nude w/stockings: 6 x 9 Encaustic Monotype
(Private Collection)

This print is an encaustic monotype printed on black Arches Cover paper with Caran d'Ache oil based crayons. This process is achieved by:
1) Placing a clean metal (zinc) plate on a hot plate and heating it to around 120-130 degrees. 2) Drawing the image on the plate with crayons (caran d'ache oil crayons - you can even use crayolas). The hot plate melts the crayons into pools of pigment. 3) With the image roughly laid out on the plate, removing pigment with Q-tips to define the image. 4) Transfering the image to the paper by placing it over the plate and rolling it firmly with a brayer. Presto!
The nature of a monotype is that it is a "one-off". They are more like paintings than prints in the traditional sense. Only one or two prints can be pulled from a plate before cleaning off the plate (thus losing the image) and starting over. They are not numbered because there is no edition.


I love this process. Its fast, loose and very painterly.