Third and fourth colour of print have been laid

Four days off work has given me the chance to catch up so two colours have been screened down. I'm really pleased with the transparency and quality of both colours and this point represents a breakthrough now I've cut the exposure time down to 6 mins with my 500w halogen lamp and halved the distance between stencil and lamp to about 25 inches: the previous screen reclaimed like a dream and I think my quest for a more powerful pressure washer was unnecessary after all. Getting the process right is all about trial and error and I think I'm now there...

How to build your own screenprinting studio #11

With limited space available in most studios you won't believe how resourceful you need to be. Shelving and storage are essential for making use of every inch, so learn how to use a drill and get your inks and chemicals out of the way.

How to build your own screenprinting studio #10

Bit of an obvious post but without the paper, or substrate, you ain't got no print. If you're going to invest the time and effort into building your studio then scrimping on the paper is a no-no. Go for something worthwhile to use after your test prints. For variety of surfaces and quality I love Hahnemuehle and Somerset. Total spend £20

Second colour of print is down...

Like anything with the early stages of screenpriting a lot of tial and error is involved. Here, the transparency of the light purprle took a while to get right where the early editions were too opaque and blocked out the black underneath but I got the right balance eventually. Next print I'll consider laying the black last over all other colours.
I also really loved adjusting the offset from print to print.

Art exhibition coverage

Another nice little piece appeared in a local publication covering my exhibition of paintings and prints at the Limetree Restaurant. I'm realising that editors will edit a press release depending on their agenda and market, not a bad thing as any coverage is good coverage but it's a learning curve...

How to build your own screenprinting studio #9

The black-out blanket is handy for the period after you've coated the screen with photo-emulsion and before you've exposed. This will enable the screen to dry in darkness.
A sheet of glass to place over the acetate on the screen while being exposed. The weight of the glass will prevent any light from spilling under the acetate and ruining the image that you need to wash out after exposure . Total spend £10

How to build your own screenprinting studio #8

Acetate to print your colour separations on. Make sure you get the laser printer friendly sort or you'll find the guy from IT has to come and scrape melted plastic from inside the printer (it only happened once!). A good trick I learned was to triple up the sheets for exposure to prevent any light from seeping through.

The first colour of the print has been laid...

It's a little bit scrappy where the pressure washer broke I had to use the shower and so didn't clean the screen of emulsion thoroughly enough. Also, where the acetate butted up during exposure it's left a visible horizontal  line. All said though I'm relatively pleased...

The design of my next screen print

Belinda, Emma, Johnny, Lisa and 3D Honey.
It's really just a simple design created in Photoshop from a couple of photos. The only thought process was to maintain a bit of humour in the same way Gilliam's Python animations do. Other than that I simply want to translate it into a screen print as best as I can in my makeshift studio.

How to build your own screenprinting studio #7

The screen exposure lamp is a 500w halogen lamp and I use a red bulb in a domestic housing so I can see what I'm up to in the dark when I'm laying down the emulsion...the red light is very weak but I've recently discovered that laying emulsion in dim natural light is still ok and won't ruin it by exposing to natural uv. Total spend £20

How to build your own screenprinting studio #6

The star of the show, ok it's ripped and it's gone to get mended at http://www.screencoloursystems.co.uk/ but this screen cost £25 + vat at 24"x19"

How to build your own screenprinting studio #5

Bits 'n bobs...from left to right....
emulsion trough, squeegee, masking tape, rubber gloves, scrubber, sponge and rags.
Total spend £30

How to build your own screenprinting studio #4

System 3 acrylic colours and medium sourced from Hobbycraft
Total spend £60

Painting progress

 

A quick visual update on the paintings in my studio. They are all works in progress and the finished articles are a LONG way off!

Silkscreen Print Used for Art Competition Marketing...

I'm pleased to say that Mask 1 has been used as publicity to promote an annual art comp called Startle Art run by Maidstone Borough Council. The image isn't as big as I'd like it to be but it's advertising of sorts all the same...
The original below followed by published version...

Great articles on screen meshes and emulsions

http://artmondo.net/printworks/articles/screen1.htm

http://artmondo.net/printworks/articles/screen2.htm

How to build your own screenprinting studio #3

Enter the chemicals!

From left to right:

Degrease solution, strip liquid, photosolve gel, general cleaner, azo coat emulsion. Total of £58.

Creative Review - More Is A Bore exhibition

Creative Review - More Is A Bore exhibition

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How to build your own screenprinting studio #2

The hinges that hold the frame are, for some reason, only made in China. I managed to source these babies from:
http://www.screencoloursystems.co.uk/ and at time of purchase no-one in the UK sold them for less than £20.

How to build your own screenprinting studio #1

The table:
Wood bought for £34 at Jewsons and knocked up over a couple of weekends. Waterproofed with clear varnish.

My new RAC 1650w pressure washer. Works great but not enough power Jim!

I only bought this this morning after my Challenge Xtreme pressure washer hose broke. Argos gave me a full refund and so I went for this RAC number, rock n roll! It works brilliantly but it just aint powerful enough to clean the screen of emulsion. It's going back too and I'll upgrade for the RAC 2000w, happy days.

The damn screen split while cleaning!

Not the fault of the pressure washer, it fell on a twig in the wind!!!