Making a Mark – Research

What is mark-making?

A simple Google search led me to a simple definition on ThoughtCo.com:

“Mark making is a term used to describe the different lines, patterns, and textures we create ​in a piece of art. It applies to any art material on any surface, not only paint on canvas or pencil on paper. A dot made with a pencil, a line created with a pen, a swirl painted with a brush, these are all types of mark making”.

From my own understanding, mark making is creating visuals using any form of medium. Artists also use different techniques of mark making as a way to express their thoughts and emotions into their artwork, giving their artwork more depth and meaning.

Mark-making techniques

Monoprint

In the dictionary says that monoprint is a single print taken from a design created in oil paint or printing ink on glass or metal.

Basically, a monoprint is a single impression of an image made from a reprintable block that has textures or design etched or created on it. There are many different methods of monoprinting.

Below is a video of a simple technique of monoprinting, where the art is “transferred” over to the paper after the art work is created on a surface.

Here is a similar method, but now uses reductive monoprint, where certain shapes or patterns are laid on the surface and when paint is applied, it covers the other areas but not where the shapes or patterns are, creating a negative space and capturing the shape in the process.

There are many other methods of monoprinting, but generally the idea of “capturing” a shape, texture or design of an object, and transferring it onto a paper or surface is similar.

A famous monoprint artwork would be Andy Warhol’s monoprint of Marilyn Monroe:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a5/3d/5a/a53d5a9cc7a419a6ef8b4f47881a1137.jpg

In my opinion, monoprinting is a doable method of mark-making, but it requires quite some creativity to know what sort textures and tools used and the positioning of those objects that is suitable for the artwork.

Fumage/smoke painting

Fumage is a technique in which impressions are made by the smoke of a candle or kerosene lamp on a piece of paper or canvas.

Some artists would leave the artwork as it is after painting it with the smoke/fire. However there are other artists that would use various tools to create textures or bring out the shapes of the designs in the artwork.

I would say this method of mark-making would require ALOT of practice and very much coordination of both hands and the mind, but if this technique is mastered it would create really beautiful and unique artworks.

A well-known artist that uses fumage would be Steven Spazuk. Some examples if his works are shown below:

http://madeinshoreditch.co.uk/2016/02/17/fumage-steven-spazuk/

http://madeinshoreditch.co.uk/2016/02/17/fumage-steven-spazuk/

Frottage

Frottage is the technique or process of taking a rubbing from an uneven surface to form the basis of a work of art. Basically, in rubbing a medium on paper that is layered above a textured object, in captures the texture and shape on the paper.

An example of frottage would be a work by Max Ernst, which he layered papers on wooden floors and rubbed the paper with soft pencils.

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/f/frottage