STORY BEHIND THE ART OF MONIKA E. DE VRIES GOHLKE

15th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at

The Horticultural Society of New York

Papaya

Carica papaya

This etching, the "Papaya", is particularly dear to my heart as it presented special challenges I had not encountered before. In previous work I had simply to work out the usual questions of composition and accuracy, but in this piece there was the new element of size, since I had until recently worked only on much smaller plates.

Working with acid on copper plates creates its own set of problems, when the weight of a plate can quickly tip the balance from "comfortable" to work with to "this is much too heavy to manage". Since timing is an important element in the process of aquatinting, when seconds spent in the acid bath are counted, a heavy metal plate in my hands, in and out of the acid, feels almost uncontrollable. Dropping a plate and splashing in the acid is highly undesirable, so a firm grip is imperative. Not wanting to be held back by my minor muscle power though, I doubled up on my intermittent Jane Fonda workouts and have been working with better muscle tone and much more ease since then. 

But I enjoy the struggle with the elements of printmaking and it seemed to me that the size of my subject, the stout stem of the tree, the profound leaves, flowers and fruits, called for a large surface to be depicted on. Since the time of my work on the "Papaya", I have chosen other botanical subjects for the same copper size (18" x 24") and experienced again the thrills and frustration of the medium. I am presently working my etchings on various Japanese and Indian papers, that add a beautiful element of color and texture to the print. The printing process is called "chine colle", which permanently bonds a thinner paper to the stronger printing stock.

Though my etchings appear to be just "black on white", I mix my inks with different shades of earth colors that vary my "black" to gradations of warm or cool tones. The white or off-white of the paper also influences the final appearance of color. I often add a bit of hand coloring to the print to add yet another dimension to the work. Though prints are usually done in editions, I only print up a few at a time and each will vary somewhat in ink saturation and tone. Pulling a good print can take the better part of a day and I'm always anxious to get on to the next project.

Getting the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Award for a Print or Drawing at this show was a special bonus for me.

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