In class, I continued to experiment with mark making methods to see what different effects could be made using regular, ordinary tools (I used a styrofoam rectangle, a toothbrush, as well as string – not pictured).

Part of mark making is that we are not allowed to use colours other than black and white shades (including greyscale tones), which means that the emphasis is placed on how the strokes and lines are presented. I experimented different ways for this by using a mono-printing machine and linoleum boards to press out different designs onto paper, as pictured here:

1. I laid out the black paint onto the board and then placed the mark making tool onto it, and then put the paper on top and ran it under the press. What came out was the picture on the right, which I think is a very interesting image.

2. I then experimented with finer string and also included white paint to see what kind of greyscale effect would occur when I mixed the black with white paint. I didn’t really like the effect that came out, I thought it was too chaotic but then again, it could work for such emotions as wrath or rage.

3. I really liked combining a rough, grungy paint background with smaller, more detailed patterns using a palette knife to scrape on or with pen once the paint dried. I like this effect more than the press, so I think I will be taking it further with the background and mixing the media used.