Secrets of an art studio – Screenprinting

Also known as silkscreen printing or serigraphy, screenprinting, in its most basic form, is the process of using a stencil to apply ink onto another material. Silkscreen printing was first developed in Japan, and is so called because silk was traditionally used in the process before the invention of polyester mesh.

Multi-coloured screenprinting, as is most commonly used today though, was developed in twentieth century America, and is how artist Simon Tozer makes the delightfully playful prints he has become known for. We went to visit him in his Bristol studio to find out just exactly how he makes them, and this is what we saw:

1. Firstly, Simon draws his image onto a transparent overlay, then traces over the original drawing in more detail with paint.

    

2. Simon then prepares the screen by coating it with a photosensitive emulsion. This is left to dry in a dark, heated space.

3. Once the screen is dry, the image is placed up-side-down on top of it and is exposed under a light for roughly 10 minutes.

    

4. Simon hoses down the screen, washing away the areas that were not exposed leaving a negative stencil of the image on the screen.

5. After selecting his squeegee, Simon takes an acrylic based paint and firmly pushes the paint over the stencil.

6. The piece is then left to dry, and the entire process is repeated with different colours to create a multi-coloured screenprint.

7. Et voila, there you have a screenprint! Unwanted Hair, by Simon Tozer:

    

Secrets of an art studio

While it may take mere seconds to fall head over heels for a piece of art, the same cannot be said about the creative process behind the finished product. A work of art could take anything from one day to one week, a month, or even a year to complete. When it comes to whipping up a masterpiece, it is often forgotten that it is by no means a simple task. Indeed, they aren’t called a labour of love for no reason!

Much of the artist’s time, labour and skill go into creating their art, and as well as working on perfecting the finished piece, a lot of time is also spent honing, developing and streamlining their methods. There are often a number of different processes each artwork must go through; sometimes these can be quick and easy, at others complicated, time-consuming, and painstakingly delicate.

In this next series, we are going to take a look behind various art-types – from prints, photography and painting, to sculpture and mixed media – to explore their different practices and discover some of the techniques involved in producing art. This way we hope to shed some light on the hard work that takes place inside artists’ studios and illuminate the details we are maybe not always aware of.

AAF is coming back!!

The next Affordable Art Fair event is going to be on the 13-16th June 2013. Come down to Hampstead, London and join us for one of the biggest and best art events of the year! Bring your kids along where they can join in with the free Kids Activity Packs filled with a range of arty activities, entertainment and discovery of art in new ways.