Gallery – Rob Mills : Printmaker

Carborundum is a printmaking technique where carborundum grit is glued to a base plate using an acrylic binder. I usually apply the binder to the plate using a brush or sponge then manipulate the glue with a variety of tools such as nailbrushes, pot brushes, old credit cards or whatever else comes to hand. I then sprinkle the carborundum grit over the binder – sometimes heavily, sometimes just a light smattering – and leave to dry. Occasionally I will work into the carborundum/binder mix as it dries on the plate to add further texture. Once dry, I ink the plate with oil-based printing inks applied with toothbrushes before wiping the excess away with cotton rags. I often blend colours with either the toothbrush or a rag as I’m wiping. Once inked, the plate is then put through a heavy etching press to produce the final print.

Drypoint is where a sharp tool is used to incise a line directly into the base plate creating a furrow. The edges of the furrow are ragged and raised giving the line a slightly ‘wooly’ appearance. Ink is worked into the furrow with a toothbrush or rag before printing.

Monoprint refers to any print (or layer of a print) that is unique and can only be reproduced once. I mainly use it to add colour washes behind other elements. I do this by inking up a sheet of acetate and wiping it back following a rough guide drawn on the reverse of the acetate.

Please Note Sizes given below are the dimensions of the paper the print is on.