I’ve been thinking of giving monoprinting a try for some time, but until this week it was one of the many things from a lengthening list that I’ve never quite got around to. However, earlier this week I fortuitously stumbled upon what turned out to be an extremely helpful and inspiring book on the monoprinting process at Liverpool Central Library – Monoprints for the artist by Roger Marsh.

That provided the stimulus for me to finally give it a go. What I’ve photographed here are the better results from two afternoons of experimentation. The process was one that didn’t come naturally to me, and it will take quite some practise to get anywhere near mastering, but I found it very exciting to be working with a totally new medium.

There were many abject failures along the way, but it was very much a learning experience for me – experimenting with quantities of ink, testing different papers and mark-making tools, dabbling with colour and more. The prints here were those I was most happy with. All of them demonstrated the importance to this process of the happy accident.

Finesse and subject matter weren’t as important as just giving it a go; I drew the objects that happened to be in the vicinity of my workspace at the time that I found most visually appealing – a meerkat and gnome on respective sticks (garden ornaments), and a Chinese Lantern husk. Each print was made rapidly, with perhaps a little less care and attention to detail than I would have brought to a more traditional drawing.