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By Laura Drinan
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The Needham Art Association, open to all artists in and around Needham, hosts monthly events to inspire and promote the arts within the community. For the month of December, the NAA hosted oil painter Carolyn Letvin on December 5 to perform a demonstration.
“It’s kind of like painting with mayonnaise,” said the Milford-based artist.
The NAA was not hosting a demonstration on the art of sandwich making, though.
Longtime painter, Carolyn Letvin, demonstrates a monotype print for the Needham Art Association on December 5. Photos by Laura Drinan
Letvin was demonstrating a monotype printmaking technique using only a piece of plexiglass that she paints on. She then transfers the painting onto a damp sheet of paper with the help of a palm press.
Letvin’s career as an artist began in 1973, but 11 years ago, she began experimenting with monotype printmaking. Both sheep and landscapes have been major focuses in her work, but she also paints still life and interior scenes.
While many of the artists in attendance were painters themselves, none were oil painters. Although Letvin used oil paints to create her ocean landscape painting, she assured the artists that they didn’t need to head to the store to gather new supplies.
Carolyn Letvin helps fellow artist, Annaliese Golubic, use a palm press to make a print. Photos by Laura Drinan
“The neat thing about this is that you’re going to work with your kit that you have,” she said. “You can just use your regular kit; you don’t have to have a whole new set. I want you to be printmakers using your existing set of paints.”
After quickly sketching the beach scene on a piece of paper, Letvin laid her plexiglass square over the sketch and began covering it with an almost-black oil paint. Her trick to creating the print is to remove paint, rather than adding it to ensure different depths within the print.
As she finished her painting, Letvin placed a blank, damp piece of paper over the plexiglass and laid a piece of acetate over it to protect the paper. She then rubbed it with a palm press, allowing the image to transfer onto the paper.
When she peeled the paper from the plexiglass, she revealed the beautiful seashore print.
“It’s just like magic,” said Astrida Ramrath, who ended up winning the print in a raffle held after the demonstration. Meanwhile, some of the artist made quick prints. While Letvin may not agree that it’s magic, she certainly confirmed that monotype printmaking is an art form fit for anyone.
