I had been on the look-out for something different to give my daughter to capture her children at the age they are now - something different to a print-out of a recent photograph or a canvas. Then I heard about monoprinting and got the chance to have a photograph transformed using this very unique method.
Natasha Gomperts asked for a few of my favourite images of the grandchildren to see which would be the best to transform using the monoprinting technique and we agreed on this one (entitled Breadsticks):
This is what Natasha had to say about the monoprinting she did for me.
I had a good couple of days in the studio printing and am very pleased with the final prints. Each is different in character, nuance and quality.
Trace monoprints, like this, are a labour-intensive, one-off process; first each is carefully designed, scaled, often re-scaled and then drawn blind through the design sheet and through the ink onto the paper below until something special and convincing happens.
This work obviously cannot be found either on or off the high street. It is quite different to things which have been personalised or made on a computer. It is, however, genuine 'affordable art', there aren't any opportunities to acquire one-off originals with this level of individuality, vigour and quality at this price.
And here is the finished monoprint (actual size is 27cm x 27cm in a 50cm x 50cm mounting). What do you think?
For me, it's a humorous moment captured in a very special way. I've not seen anything like this before which makes it even more personal. The monoprinting process isn't a quick one and you can see the process here on YouTube. The freehand tracing method used in monoprinting means that even if two monoprints are created from the same image they aren't going to be exactly the same. Natasha includes mounting in her price but has also kindly sent me three unmounted versions of the same picture which will be great as gifts for other members of the family.
You can find more examples of Natasha's work on her Facebook page (she's also holding a fun competition on there at the moment so have a nosy in) and her prices are on her website.
Natasha created this monoprint for me to review. Please see my disclosure policy for more details.