Shapes, Colors, and the Gelli Plate
Just playing around with mixing colors and shapes on the Gelli plate.
Inspired by Jane Davies and Joan Gillman Smith (but nowhere near that good.)
A word to the wise. You've probably seen a lot of videos and pictorials on how to use the Gelli plate. I know I have. I've also been making prints for months and been mostly dissatisfied with the results. A lot of the videos and tutorials I've seen show people putting several dollops of paint onto the Gelli plate. I was doing the same thing until just a few weeks ago. I've realized that I have been using waaaaaayyyy too much paint.
Of course, your mileage may vary, but if you want crisper images from your Gelli prints, try using far less paint than you have been. For the 8 x 10 plate, I would suggest just a few drops* of fluid acrylics or one small dollop of soft-bodied tube acrylics, such as Liquitex student-grade paints. Add a little glazing medium or open medium to keep the paint wet.
The prints above were made Liquitex Basics and Golden Fluid Acrylics. I used a little bit of Golden Open Medium on the plate to keep the paint wet enough to print and make ghost prints. I made the prints on inexpensive drawing paper.
Using less paint gives you crisp images, saves you money (since it saves paint), and keeps your paper from buckling. Less really is more. If you've been a bit dissatisfied with your Gelli printing efforts, try using less paint. You may be pleasantly surprised with the results.
*Edited to Add: If you do put too much paint on your Gelli plate— as I often do because it's easy to get heavy-handed with paint—you can remove it with your brayer. Once you get your paint smoothed out, wipe your brayer off on some scrap paper or a journal page. Roll the clean(ish) brayer over the paint on the plate to pick up more of it and then wipe or roll that excess off. Alternatively, gently press a piece of scratch paper onto the plate to pick up some of the paint before making your print.
Inspired by Jane Davies and Joan Gillman Smith (but nowhere near that good.)
A word to the wise. You've probably seen a lot of videos and pictorials on how to use the Gelli plate. I know I have. I've also been making prints for months and been mostly dissatisfied with the results. A lot of the videos and tutorials I've seen show people putting several dollops of paint onto the Gelli plate. I was doing the same thing until just a few weeks ago. I've realized that I have been using waaaaaayyyy too much paint.
Of course, your mileage may vary, but if you want crisper images from your Gelli prints, try using far less paint than you have been. For the 8 x 10 plate, I would suggest just a few drops* of fluid acrylics or one small dollop of soft-bodied tube acrylics, such as Liquitex student-grade paints. Add a little glazing medium or open medium to keep the paint wet.
The prints above were made Liquitex Basics and Golden Fluid Acrylics. I used a little bit of Golden Open Medium on the plate to keep the paint wet enough to print and make ghost prints. I made the prints on inexpensive drawing paper.
Using less paint gives you crisp images, saves you money (since it saves paint), and keeps your paper from buckling. Less really is more. If you've been a bit dissatisfied with your Gelli printing efforts, try using less paint. You may be pleasantly surprised with the results.
*Edited to Add: If you do put too much paint on your Gelli plate— as I often do because it's easy to get heavy-handed with paint—you can remove it with your brayer. Once you get your paint smoothed out, wipe your brayer off on some scrap paper or a journal page. Roll the clean(ish) brayer over the paint on the plate to pick up more of it and then wipe or roll that excess off. Alternatively, gently press a piece of scratch paper onto the plate to pick up some of the paint before making your print.
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