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  • Writer's pictureNigel Gray

Monotypes in the making: printing 'on the road'

Updated: Jul 22, 2022

My recent holiday challenge was to see what prints I could produce away from all the paraphernalia of my studio. As I thought, you can get very pleasing results from keeping it simple.

I have always taken sketching gear with me on holidays but, more often than not, I've hardly used it. Would taking printmaking gear work any better? Getting set up to print 'on the road' took quite a bit of thought and preparation but I'm pleased to report that the answer was 'yes!' I came home with six or seven little prints that will serve as a lovely memento of a happy fortnight away with my family.


I know there are others out there who have been printing en plein air for ages, but here's a video of the equipment I used and how I organised it.



Post script to the video: Here are a few things I should have mentioned but didn't.

  • I was printing 'on the road' metaphorically, not literally. I stuck my prepared plate in the box again and took it back to our holiday apartment for printing.

  • Before printing, I brought up a blank page on an old iPad to use as a light box for final checking and modifications.

  • You need to pack something comfortable to sit on and preferably something to lay your tools on. Sitting on a folded down beach chair in the boot/trunk of my car worked well for me. As you can see, this even gave me a back rest. Perfect!






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