Steered by master printmaker and owner Zhané Warren, the studio produces original etchings, photogravures and monotypes with artists. Established in October 2007, Warren Editions is in its 17th year of operation. Nestled amongst trees and the sounds of birds, the studio is located on the edge of the Cape Point Nature Reserve near Kommetjie, Cape Town.
Katherine Bull | Monotypes
Experience the unique process of Katherine Bull’s ongoing series of monotypes in watercolour, a journey that began in October 2016. Bull’s creative process involves using short mobile phone videos captured during her travels in and around Cape Town as the source material. She paints onto two plates simultaneously, one with each hand, while the moving image plays on a looped iPad screen. This innovative approach allows her to layer the two images, creating a single, unique printed impression.
The plates are registered and printed in sequence onto a damp, heavyweight paper with tight pressure on an etching press. For monotype in watercolour, the 0,5 mm PVC (plastic) plates must be prepared with a thin layer of gum arabic (in South Africa known as gum acacia) by buffing it with a soft wide weaved cotton rag until dry and barely visible. The layer of gum arabic acts as a release agent when the dry watercolour pigment makes contact under high pressure with the damp paper as it runs through the press. The mediums were combined Windsor and Newton pan watercolours, tube watercolours and handmade watercolours made at Warren Editions.