Lithograph 20: The Jungle Gene is Me

The Experiment: If Sharpies why not Posca?

I had recently acquired a set of very expensive opaque oil based Posca Markers in various sizes for my Silk Screen drawings. And I thought, these are super slick, and opaque and are doing a much better job on my silk screen drawings on vegetable paper than the sharpie, so why not use them on the stones, since I have already used sharpies successfully on the stones...

First of all, they glide so beautifully on the stone I NEVER WANT TO USE ANYTHING ElSE EVER... no, seriously, just look . how clear and crisp the lines are!

The Usual Routine: I messed up, haha! and so, begins the interesting story of this stone. I used Posca markers and tusche mixed with filtered water. Then I forgot to protect it with rosin and talc and Gum Arabic - for a week!

Usually, I prefer to really heat dry my water tusches and also heat dry rosin to make sure the tusches stay that way. 

I asked a friend to gum up my stone, as I could not come that day. The friend went in and gummed it for me. However, on its second etch it went blank - the Posca lines showed through, but technically the whole stone did not show any affinity to rosin. At this point, I knew it wasn’t going to print well - the Posca lines were flat as ever and the water tusche had disappeared.

 I was heart broken, but Tina Velho, the super professor and my magic sage came to the rescue.

I inked the stone as the second etch goes, but before gumming, we started to melt the rosin with a hairdryer, adding it on the lines (pushing it in ) and hair-drying the fats in.
It got a little better, then my professor took one look and said - let’s ink it again on the melted breu rosin. 

So, we loaded up the roller with lose ink and pushed it in a few times and Viola!!! You could see where the Posca lines earlier were flat, starting to reflect greasy shine!

The whole image had returned, including the vanished water tusche. Then I again powdered resin on top (heat dried) put some talcum and gummed it with Gum Arabic.

Then I wrapped up the stone, as it was the last day of the year and left it for Jan 2020. 

And, here's to the very first print of 2020 on January 8. Of course it printed wonderfully!

And, here is my most favourite part, the print reveal! I love how it feels like a water reflection and mildly insane at the same time.

The Jungle Gene is Me
8 editions in Hahnemühle
No André in Eden Series
 
I spent the year 2018 and 2019 embrued in the nightmare of my cancer treatment. Everything that I ever knew before 2018, was a very distant memory, and I spent a large portion of the year 2018 and 2019, bald and nauseous. 

I am on very heavy lifesaving, cancer fighting drugs that have changed my whole body and face, and my entire outlook on life. I can't recognise myself anymore, and it gives me a lot of depression. 

However, on Dec 30, 2019 -  I woke up in a foul funk. My post chemo curls are now growing vertical, with special powers of not lying down, as you can see. I just took one look at my 'pre -new year eve' face - and I just knew that the image I had drawn the rock was ME. And it made me laugh so much. Just like I was exploring the origins of us in the No André in Eden series, my subconscious was telling me who I was all the time. The ultimate Jungle Bhoot. 

This is me, unapologetically insane. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk =D