How to Keep the (Morning) Blues at Bay

Morning Blues started as a daily exercise to keep the blues at bay – just a few minutes of blind contour drawing before breakfast. I liked the lightness of it all – the idea of not committing to anything in particular, not having a goal, not really exploring anything. It felt refreshing, so I decided to set up some parameters to make it a project.

I tore handmade paper and decided to paint a watercolor background one day, then add a quick contour drawing on top the next day. Both layers reflected my emotions that day through color and the subject I chose (what I saw first after I woke up): fragments of a shower curtain, a tangled duvet covered in wrinkles and deep creases, a drawstring laundry bag.

At the time, I worked extensively (and intensely) in printmaking, so it was only natural that I took the idea of capturing my state of mind into a medium particularly open to experimenting with layers. I chose etching, which I knew allowed the flow of a single line. Equipped with small copper plates coated with hard ground – a layer of hardened asphalt-like liquid – that allows one to scribe into it with an etching needle and ‘draw’ that way (it does require some practice), I began recording my surroundings and drew directly onto the plate – one plate and drawing each morning, for seven days. 

Back in the printmaking workshop, I first experimented with printing – on different papers, printing each plate multiple times into one image, layering different plates into one image.

Multiple impressions of one plate, on tissue paper.

In the end, I settled on simply printing each plate just once, as I found the flow of the etched line on off-white handmade paper just right to express the simplicity of the moment. 

In addition to making the simple etchings, I further searched for a way to create (in printmaking) something similar to watercolor and make separate plates that could act as background for the line etchings. I chose aquatint for its velvety texture and capacity for gradation. One aquatint in particular turned out well and became part of the Morning Blues series. It features diagonal bands of various tones. The impulse for this image came from light coming into my room through blinds, changing direction on the ceiling and walls. Despite being abstract, it complements the etched drawings. It also worked out as a background, which I printed in blue to add color to the printmaking series.

Lastly, I would like to mention that I also tried the theme in woodcut, working with the drawstring laundry bag as a motif and using a reduction method, which is a way to carve and print from the same piece of wood in stages and create a multicolor image (otherwise, multiple plates, one for each color, are typically used). Although I didn't print even a small edition, I enjoyed working with wood. These are the two two-color impressions I made.

Morning Blues was my answer to my Sunday blues that recurred every morning of the week. By inserting something pleasurable into my daily routine, I managed to beat the blues.