Peter McDonald
pmart131@netzero.com

Melancholy Moment

Untitled

Doll Face

Peter McDonald, Boston printmaker, discovered his love for printmaking at the School of the Museum of Fine arts, Boston after having worked exclusively in graphic design for over 30 years. He uses an intuitive layering approach to monoprinting. "I prefer to start a print with a rough idea of shape, color and direction. Then I start printing random layers using hand-cut stencils, ink flows from my palette or whatever will leave a mark on my printing plate. This free-flowing exploratory time feels like playtime for me. It brings a sense of humor to my work."

The print quickly comes to life after its first pass through the press. "I usually have a strong idea of what is needed to take the print to finish, though I will often continue to explore new possibilities by printing whatever ink my be left on a printing plate or stencil onto new paper or continue to layer images onto other work. Sometimes it feels like the process should never end. I find myself unable to let go and feel the need to continue to explore new directions. Trying to work to a set plan is not natural. The more relaxed the process, the more evocative, the more rewarding the result."

Some prints may take two or three passes through the press, others my take five or six that are done months, years apart. "Rarely is a finished piece done in one day. To keep an image crisp, I like the ink to dry completely before preceding with additional layers. Also, I like to stop to reevaluate the direction a piece is moving. That way, I get ‘to know’ the print better, by taking time to adjust color and composition. Monoprinting is not an exact science. There are a lot of variables when printing. You can never totally exactly control the final product. I think that is what makes this process so exciting."

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