My process of making screenprints

Sketches

I start out by sketching in my sketchbook or notebook. Quite often you'll see sketches in my lined notebook because it's what I have to hand! I often make many sketches of my ideas with different perspectives or arrangements. I use photographs for inspiration and reference.

I start off with a very rough sketch and then refine it into something like you see above. I work hard on composition and like everything to feel balanced in my work.

Papercuts

There are then two ways I can work. One is to take the sketch and work it up on the computer using natural media brushes and shapes that replicate papercuts.

The way I like to illustrate my prints is by working with papercuts first to build up the colours and then I add textures and natural media details over the top of the papercuts.

The other way I like to work is to create everything by hand. I work with polyester film, cut out the shapes with a scalpel and paint them black. The papercuts are glued to the polyester film.

I then work with natural media such as pencil marks, ink pen, brush strokes (again in black paint), charcoal and other media.

The reason it is all black is because to make screenprinting stencils you need the artwork to be as dark as possible to prevent the light hitting the screen in the artwork areas.

I work with polyester film so I can overlay the artwork and make it all line up.

Exposing the screens

The screens are coated with a photo sensitive emulsion, a thin layer on both sides. When exposed with a strong light source the artwork, which is solid black, does not get exposed and the rest of the screen does get exposed to the light. This hardens the emulsion. When washed out under water, the artwork washes away leaving a hole through which the ink can pass.

Ink mixing

I work hard to get the colours exactly how I want them. Firstly I mix the colours by eye to match colours I've chosen on the computer which gives me a starting point. I then paint swatches of the ink on paper and use my Nix colour sensor to measure the colour values.

Once I've got the colour values I can then estimate how to adjust the colours. I make the adjustments and paint more swatches, taking colour sensor measurements to see how close I am.

Printing

The editioning can now begin. The screen is clamped to the table and the first colour is printed using the mixed ink. I use paper specifically for printmaking. My paper of choice at the moment is Fabriano 5 or Somerset Radiant White.

After the first layer of colour is down, each subsequent layer needs to be aligned. This is called registration. The screen is clamped to the table in roughly the right place and a piece of acetate is taped on one side below the screen. I then print the artwork onto the piece of acetate and use that over the top of the prints to align each sheet. It is a very simple process but errors can creep in. I have learned through experience how to refine the registration process so it's now really accurate.

All of the edition is printed with the first colour.

Once the print is aligned, I place a bead of ink at the top of the screen and flood the screen with ink, by gently pulling the ink down the screen with a squeegee without the screen in contact with the paper. Once flooded I then press down hard and pull the squeegee, pressing the ink through the holes in the screen and onto the paper.

In this way, each colour of the edition is printed in registration with previous colours. As I print the edition, I check each pass of the squeegee to ensure that everything has printed correctly and no areas have been missed.

Final print

The whole edition is then checked by eye to ensure they are all of good quality. Once checked the edition is trimmed out to the final size, titled, numbered and signed in pencil.