Painterly Prints: Silkscreen Monotypes
Join me for Painterly Prints: Silkscreen Monotypes in June 2025! I've been teaching this popular class online for several years and have decided to introduce it in person at my Chicago studio. I have used the process extensively in my work since 2020. The process is super spontaneous, fast, and full of surprises!
What is a Silkscreen Monotype? It's an intuitive process that combines painting and print to arrive at an image. Artists paint and draw directly onto a silkscreen, and then, using water-based media, the image on the screen is printed (transferred) onto paper. The class will also cover printing water-based media, R & F Pigment Sticks, and combining water—and oil-based media onto paper.
Silkscreen Monotypes requires no prior print experience. The process is easy and fast, and you will be making prints within an hour after the class begins. The class will explore layering ideas and how to build an image. How to mount a print into a panel will also be covered, making it easy to present your work. The process is adaptable to mixing water-based and oil-based paintings and then printing them into or within a painting.
Hirst, Walking Back from There, silkscreen monotype, 20 x 19, 2022
What we will cover during the class?
• How to work with water-based media directly onto silkscreens without using photo stencils
• How to use oil-based media to bring out a lustrous surface, adding to the painterly quality of the prints
• learn about mixing water and oil-based media on the same image
• using opaque and transparent color relationships to realize complex color images
• Create images using hand-cut stencils reflecting your vision
• Create prints that incorporate drawing and silkscreen printing
• Create a series of black and white prints that explore value and composition
• Spontaneously develop shape, line, and color
• Emphasis on intuitive development of silkscreen prints
• Various use of tools to aid in print creation
• How to create multi-layered color silkscreen prints
• Overprinting colors to get complex color relationships
• Utilizing various registration systems
• Composition challenges when creating silkscreen prints
• Learn how to translate drawings into prints
• Further reveal and define your voice through unusual juxtapositions
• Optional coverage of using photo-based screenprints and combining them with Silkscreen Monotypes
• A special field trip to the Art Institute of Chicago Print Study Room and look at silkscreen prints made by well-known artists followed by a Thursday night (optional) tour of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The process of creating Silkscreen Monotypes challenges students to think differently about how colors interact and how layers of imagery build up over time. The technique's spontaneity allows students to make unexpected discoveries about color mixing, transparency, and opacity, which is a great way to deepen their understanding of the medium and their artistic expression.
Building complex imagery using this process will also encourage a more intuitive approach to composition, as each layer can introduce new elements or shift the focus in surprising ways. It's an exciting way to learn how to create depth and complexity while allowing for that freedom of experimentation.
Combining painting and printmaking in Silkscreen Monotypes opens up many creative possibilities. Students will leave the class feeling more confident in their ability to layer and work with color in ways they hadn't considered before.
The spontaneous and intuitive nature of the process is exciting for artists, whether they are beginners or more experienced.
Here are a few key aspects of the class that might interest you:
Spontaneous and Fast Process: The emphasis on quick and intuitive creativity makes this a great fit for artists who like to explore and experiment without overthinking.
Layering and Image-Building: It's exciting that the class will dive into how to layer and build an image. This is an excellent skill for any artist to master, especially in printmaking, where every layer adds to the final composition.
Mixing Media: Combining water-based and oil-based materials in painting and printing will allow artists to blend techniques and use each media’s unique characteristics. This technique is perfect for those who want to break boundaries in their creative approach
Mounting Prints into Panels: This skill will be invaluable for artists who want to present their prints as finished pieces without having to use frames. Your images become gallery-ready works with ease.
About Jeffrey Hirst
Jeff Hirst has exhibited his work throughout the United States and Europe since 1987. He has his MFA from Louisiana State University and BFA from the University of Minnesota. His work has been showcased at national and international venues including the Minneapolis Institute of Art; McLean Projects for the Arts, VA; McKinney Contemporary, Dallas, and Bienal do Douro, Portugal. Hirst is a recipient of the numerous grants and was awarded a fellowship at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation in Ireland where he has gone on four residencies. Hirst is represented by Addington Gallery in Chicago and Brandt Gallery in Columbus, OH and his work is in numerous public and private collections in The U.S., Portugal, Italy and Ireland. In 2021, Hirst co-founded Catalyst Art Lab and teaches encaustic and printmaking workshops across the U.S. Canada, Mexico, France and Ireland.
Jeff is a Core instructor for R & F Handmade Paints and has taught and presented many times at the International Encaustic Conference. His specialty and interest is combining painting and printmaking to arrive at hybrid imagery.
Hirst & Metier, Crow Tree I, silkscreen monotype, photo-intaglio, photo-silkscreen, 120” x 72”, 2023
Jeffrey Hirst- Encaustic Workshop
Payments, cancellations, transfers, and refunds:
The class cost is $1095. To hold your spot, please send a $500 deposit to Jeff Hirst using either Zelle or Venmo. You may also send in a check. Please contact Jeff for details. For those registering before December 31, 2024, you will a 10% discount on the class.
How to Register? Contact Jeff at jeff@jeffreyhirst.com and he will send you a Venmo or Zelle link.
If YOU have to cancel: Refunds are not available unless we can rebook your place. Please note that the closer we get to the event, the less likely we will be able to find someone to replace you.
If YOU cancel, but we can refill your spot: You will be refunded everything you have paid minus a $50 administrative fee.
If WE have to cancel: We will refund everything you have paid.
If you have any questions regarding any workshop, call 612-414-3030 or email Jeff at jeff@jeffreyhirst.com.