Monotypes

From 1973 to 1984 Bearden worked in the print medium of monotype. In this technique, an image is painted or drawn on metal or plastic. (Bearden used a plastic sheet.) The image is transferred to paper ("printed"), either with a printing press or hand-pressure. The resulting print is unique, although subsequent "ghost prints," with less intense results, can be pulled from the original plate. As he did in his collages, Bearden often enhanced the print surface with graphite, watercolor, gouache, or acrylic paint.

Bearden's monotypes demonstrate a loose, painterly style. For example, Rain Forest—Pool, an oil monotype with paint, suggests the lush green hills, waterfall, and gentle pools of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin where Bearden and his wife lived and worked part time from 1973 to 1987. Nearly monochromatic, the cool green tones and loose brushy forms subtly convey the landscape of this island retreat.

This renewed interest in working with paint and more spontaneous brushwork of his monotypes informed the artist's collages, some of which became more painted and painterly over time.