Greek Monoprints

John Ross Palmer first traveled to Greece in 2005 to study monoprinting at the Skopelos Foundation for the Arts under the direction of California’s Linda Goodman. Palmer fell in love with the picturesque Skopelos Island and made return trips in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2014. The name “monoprint” can be misleading for some because it contains the word “print,” but each monoprint is an original one-of-one piece of artwork that Palmer created on an archaic printing press at the Foundation. Palmer was trained in the classic style where all elements (color and form) had to be contained inside a defined, rectangular area. As Palmer gained confidence, he literally began to go outside the box – making Palmer’s monoprints unlike any others in the world. In 2007, Palmer organized a massive group of his top collectors to partake in an art mecca to Greece, and then each receives a custom monoprint that he created for them at the Foundation. 2009 was a significant year because it was the only journey when Palmer’s husband, Ryan Lindsay, joined him in Greece. Many of these monoprints have the date September 29th on them – that’s Lindsay’s birthday that he celebrated at the foundation with gyros and too much tequila. Most of Palmer’s monoprints are created on prized Fabriano paper.