Heidi Archer
original prints & paintings
Heidi Archeroriginal prints & paintings
Please browse examples of my work within each of the categories below. If you would like to see alternative colour variations of a particular print please contact me.
I use collage materials to build up an image and texture on a board, then secure them using emulsion paint and seal with PVA glue or varnish. Once it is dry, I carefully apply intaglio ink to the created plate with a toothbrush. Using a material called scrim, I then wipe the plate to remove excess ink, leaving enough to print the image onto dampened, high quality, watercolour paper.
If any relief ink or chine colle is needed, I apply it now before lining up the plate, positioning the paper and winding it through the press under great pressure. Due to the aggressive inking-up process and the pressure applied to the plate from each press, there are only a limited number of prints that can be taken from it.
Collagraph printing is a lengthy process but produces stunning, highly textural results.
Using a sharp tool such as a Stanley knife, I scratch into perspex to create a line and a raised rough edge called a burr. I then prepare the paper by cutting it to size and dampening it before applying intaglio ink to the plate with a toothbrush and removing the excess with scrim.
I apply any required chine colle and roll the paper through the high pressure press, which presses the ink into the paper and creates the image. Each time the plate is prepared and put through the press the burr is worn, thus giving the plate a limited life span.
I cut my lino creating an image using special cutting tools. The tools are ‘u’ and ‘v’ shaped and range in size to create thinner or thicker lines. As I currently prefer monochrome images, additional cutting in between pulls is not necessary.
I roll an even layer of relief ink on to the lino then position it with the paper and the pull down the press, pushing the ink onto the paper. Any areas which were cut into are left blank on the finished piece.
In order to create a textural effect, I use both knife and brushwork to apply paint. I also use coloured tissue paper at times to create a block of colour within the painting. I achieve texture by building up layers of paint and scratching into it.
Each of my oil paintings are unique so if there is one you like that is unavailable, please contact me to discuss the possibility of a commission.
Essentially a monoprint is any print that cannot be identically reproduced or editioned. In fact, all of my prints fall within this category as no two are exactly the same.
However, for the sake of clarity, my monoprints are my true 'one-off' pieces, as opposed to those I create using the processes above.
