Watercolor pencils on a copper aquatint test plate, printed on Fabriano Rosaspina paper.  The white patches are where the paper stuck to the plate and tore.  Maybe watercolor pencils would lift from the plate more successfully if I used a stronger paper, but I’m not holding my breath.

Monotypes are one of a kind prints, but artists will often pull a second, much lighter “ghost” print.  Ghost prints often make a beautiful foundation for a new work of art, either by hand painting directly onto the paper, or printing additional layers.

This is the old aquatint test plate that I drew directly onto with my watercolor pencils.  The darker the area on the plate, the more rough the surface is, giving the plate a bit of “tooth” for the pencil to cling to.  The brightly colored square in the corner has no aquatint, resulting in very little color transferring from the plate to the paper.

As promised, I will be sharing the good, bad and the ugly outcomes of this little experiment.  I’m definitely putting this one in the “bad” category…better luck next time!