A 31' documentary film showing Jean-Pierre Sergent silkscreening his images on small papers in his Besançon studio's for his new June show: LE DÉSIR, LA MATRICE, LA GROTTE & LE LOTUS BLANC, April 2014. <br /> <br />http://www.j-psergent.com/calendar/65/23-LE-DeSIR-LA-MATRICE-LA-GROTTE-LE-LOTUS-BLANC <br /><br /> <br />About the silkscreen process in the article: <br />Talking to artist…Jean-Pierre Sergent <br />An Interview with Grith Grough for The Eroticartlover, Denmark, February 06, 2013. > http://www.eroticartlover.com/talking-to-artist-jean-pierre-sergent/ <br /> <br />EroticArtLover: <br />What is the process for creating a silkscreen print?<br /><br />Jean-Pierre Sergent: <br />It’s a long process:<br />• First, I import an image on my computer. Sometimes I also draw directly on the film mask.<br />• Second, I redraw the image. Using design programs like Photoshop and later with Illustrator, to convert the design to vectors.<br />• Third, I send the information to the machine plotter in order to cut a Rubylith film with a blade. Two films are sandwiched together, the bottom layer is clear and is not cut, the top layer is red and cut by the blade.<br />• Fourth, I peel off the part of the film I don’t want to print so that my design remains on the film. If the design is simple it can take a few minutes and if it is complicated, it can take up to a day or more of work!<br />• Fifth, I clean the old silkscreen frames with a high-pressure water cleaner.<br />• Sixth, I coat the frames with two coats of photographic glue emulsion and let it dry.<br />• Seventh, I use Scotch tape to stick the ruby stencil that blocks light onto the back of the frame, and I expose it in a light box for five minutes. The glue dries where the surface is not protected by the film mask. After that, I clean the frame with running water to remove the parts that haven’t been exposed to light.<br />• Eight, finally I place my frame on the printing table and apply the ink with a squeegee onto paper or Plexiglas.<br />• Ninth, I add about three more layers of images on every Plexiglas painting. Then I finish it with three layers of monochrome coats with a brush, three coats of gesso and two of varnish. <br /> <br />EroticArtLover: <br />How long does it take to make a silkscreen print from start to finish?<br /><br />Jean-Pierre Sergent: <br />Silkscreen printing is a long and laborious process. I have a huge database of images collected over the years. So it can take anywhere from a few weeks to several years for an image or a symbol to appear in one of my pieces of art.
