Andy Warhol – Life and Art

Blotted Ink Technique Blotted line combines drawing with very basic printmaking. Warhol began by making a line drawing on a piece of non-absorbent paper, such as tracing paper. Next he hinged this piece of paper to a second sheet of more absorbent paper by taping their edges together on one side. With an old fountain pen, Warhol inked over a small section of the drawn lines then transferred the ink onto the second sheet by folding along the hinge and lightly pressing or “blotting” the two papers together.

Blotted Ink Before he became one of the most famous Pop artists in the world in the 1960s, Andy Warhol made a living as a graphic designer Andy Warhol was responsible for the drawings, if not the layout. He would often enlist his mum to write the scrawled text. You can also see the evolution of his ‘blotted ink’ technique, which would become a hallmark of his later work. 

Discussion Questions: Use adjectives to describe the lines and colors Warhol uses in his drawings. Does Warhol draw in all the details? What is left out? Why? What type of person do you think Warhol was trying to attract with these ads? Explain your answer. When you look at advertisements, how do artists and designers manipulate images to make products seem more appealing?

Silk Screen Work Andy Warhol's most common form of printmaking was via silkscreen; where he was able to  project a photograph to a silk screen. This allowed him to produce repetitive patterns of the same image, whilst not restricting him to maintain the same appearance... he was able to alter the colour schemes.

Warhol also experimented with monochromatic prints. He used three colors for the background to make the image more unique. It gives the image more depth

In 1960s Warhol began to make paintings of iconic American products such as Campbell's Soup Cans as well as paintings of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Troy Donahue, Muhammad Ali and Elizabeth Taylor. He founded "The Factory," his studio during these years, and gathered around himself a wide range of artists, writers, musicians, and underground celebrities. He began producing prints using the silkscreen method. His work became popular and controversial.

Artist Statement on Production Campbell’s Soup was an icon of stability in the early 1960s, and the can evoked a comfortable familiarity. Yet, Warhol’s Soup Can paintings were intended to provoke anxiety about value. What at first might appear as a crass joke is, at the same time, a sophisticated and serious artistic statement.

Replicating Everyday Objects The artist’s 1964 Brillo boxes were made of silkscreened ink and house paint on plywood.

Coke Bottles Warhol also used Coca Cola bottles as subject matter for paintings. He said this about Coca Cola:“What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coca-Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca-Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca-Cola, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the cokes are the same and all the cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it”.

For Our Warhol Print Take a picture of yourself Using the idea of contour line drawing, outline the areas you want to keep as line work Cut out the sections you want to print (shown in Black) Glue down onto a new plate

Prepare for the Final Prints Determine the colors you want to use in both forground & background Determine the # of prints Paint the background in desired colors When dry, ink your plate and transfer to background paper