Prickly pear
4 x 6”
monotype
2006

Prickly pear
10 x 13”
monotype
2006

Lemons on plate
9 1/2 x 12
monotype
2006

Doris Madsen

Personal Statement

My favorite medium is monotype printmaking. I combine it with drypoint, pencil, ink and collage. Seeing and drawing is the basis of everything. I am also a painter and will use watercolor to explore an idea I want to pursue in the studio. I am using a reductive monotype technique where I ink plexiglass in one color and wipe away where I do not want the color.  Each print is several layers and I work on two or more prints of a particular image at one time. The process allows a looseness and spontaneity with endless possibilities. My goal is to explore and create a relationship of elements which reflect on the process.

I am fascinated with edges and borders, both real and imaginary. Straight edges and boundaries become either blurred and subdued or activated and energized. Expressive line drives movement and creates relationships of elements. What is real becomes abstract.

I am a graduate of Smith College and the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Currently, I am a librarian at the Springfield City Library. In 2005 I joined Zea Mays Printmaking where I find the perfect combination of learning, community and making art.

I may be reached at 413-527-4142 or erdomadsen@charter.net